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Apple's App Tracking Transparency feature appears to be benefitting Google

By Anam Hamid

Published: May 20, 2021, 5:38 PM

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Apple's App Tracking Transparency feature appears to be benefitting Google

Apple iOS 14.5's App Tracking Transparency, which is abbreviated to ATT, looks to be benefitting Android. It's been around a month since the release of the new update and the Post-IDFA Alliance has been tracking a range of metrics to determine the initial impact of the new changes.

ATT is a privacy feature that requires any third-party app that wants to track user activity and share it with other other platforms to ask for permission. App developers and advertisers rely on this sort of tracking to serve personalized ads. More specifically, they use something called Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA), a random identifier Apple assigns to devices, for tracking and identifying user activity in and across apps.

Developers fear that if users don't opt-in to tracking, they might lose revenue. Their concerns are not unfounded as early data compiled by Flurry Analytics show that in the US, only four percent of users are fine with being tracked. Globally, the number is 12 percent.

Two-week data suggest things are not that bad for marketers

Post-IDFA Alliance's report covers the period between April 26th and May 9th and it's based on data from ad networks and monetization platforms like Liftoff, AdColony, Fyber, Singular, and Vungle.

Per the report, 12.9 percent of users adopted iOS 14.5 within two weeks of the launch. Based on Singular's and AdColony's data provided in the report, around 25 percent of these users have opted-in to sharing their IDFA.

AdColony and Singular have witnessed ad spending go down by up to 3.59 percent. Vungle, on the other hand, has seen ad spend on iOS go up by 3.32 percent.

Is ad spending being diverted from iOS to Android in the wake of iOS 14.5

Interestingly - but perhaps not coincidentally- all alliance partners say spending on Android ads went up in the two weeks following the release of the new iOS update. Liftoff reports an 8.29 percent increase, and Vungle a 21 percent rise.

If iOS and Android figures are combined, it looks like marketers are spending more on user acquisition overall.

CPM (Cost per thousand impressions) appears to have decreased by up to 8.73 percent after iOS 14.5. Although CPMs are expected to decline in the short term, Post-IDFA alliance partners think prices will increase as more users download iOS 14.5 and marketers warm up to the idea of spending against IDFA-less traffic.

All in all, the data suggest that so far, the changes introduced by iOS 14.5 haven't been earth-shattering for marketers. The picture will become clearer as more people upgrade to iOS 14.5.

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Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.