Facebook executives told investors that the change could start hurting the company's revenues in the first quarter.
Apple is offering alternative technology free of charge that will help advertisers attribute paid clicks
Apple said on Thursday that new privacy pop-up notifications will start appearing on most iPhone units as soon as "early spring," a requirement that major digital advertising firms such as Facebook have warned will harm their businesses.
The one-time notices will require an app developer to ask a user's permission before the app tracks their activities "across other companies' apps and websites." Digital advertising experts believe that the warning will cause many users to decline permission.
Apple announced the move last June but said in September that it would delay the change to give digital advertisers more time to adjust.
Facebook said in December that it plans to show the pop-up notification because it did not want Apple iPhone users to lose access to its apps.
On an earnings call on Wednesday, Facebook executives told investors that the change could start hurting the company's revenues in the first quarter, with Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg accusing Apple of having "every incentive to use their dominant platform position to interfere with how our apps and other apps work."
Apple on Wednesday disclosed that it has an active installed base of 1.65 billion devices, more than 1 billion of which are iPhone models, with 620 million paying subscribers on its devices.
For its part, Alphabet's Google on Tuesday said that it would cease practices, including the use of an Apple-supplied tracking identifier, that would require it to show the warning, thus avoiding it.
Apple has said that is offering alternative technology free of charge that will help advertisers attribute paid clicks and taps without engaging in what Apple deems tracking.
Google said on Tuesday that is proactively working with Apple to improve the alternative offering.
Apple said on Wednesday that it will roll out new tools such as a way to attribute clicks made on video advertisements.
© Thomson Reuters 2021
Does WhatsApp's new privacy policy spell the end for your privacy? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.
Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.