Apple cost social media companies $10 billion: How changing privacy rules are reshaping the marketing landscape
Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2025 3:35 am
The Financial Times report found that social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat and Twitter are losing billions of dollars in advertising revenue following Apple's privacy changes.
Fernanda Donnini
Nov 11, 21 | 5 min read
apple privacy social networks
Reading time: 5 minutes
In a privacy-first, cookie-less world, collecting first-party data linkedin database hrough quality content can be a great way to continue generating leads and revenue.
Last year, Apple announced a new privacy policy that requires apps to ask permission to track users for advertising purposes. App Tracking Transparency was launched as part of iOS 14.5 and requires apps to ask users for permission before tracking them across other apps and websites.
Before this, when you used apps on your iPhone, they could track you across other apps and websites and then send you personalized ads.
At the time of Apple’s new policy’s release, Facebook ran a full-page newspaper ad titled “ Apple vs. Free Internet .” It alleged that changes to Apple’s mobile software would hurt small businesses and consumers, “ changing the Internet as we know it—for the worse .”
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is gIoztOuLJ4_orSWKjMOmR6MsWZQwLNtRkff3_i-ZYEgJO1XHYrHzV2iW_HaYocDcgx-d 6UNl-_ebbwWtSwC1c1U5M27nurH6-f2LpbKiYo27Pgw-4LPqJfvKBN-uB67i8ab3-a5h
According to a recently published Financial Times report , social media giants rely heavily on advertising as it is a major source of revenue. Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube lost around USD 9.85 billion in advertising revenue following Apple’s changes to its privacy practices.
Meanwhile, Apple reported a record quarter for its advertising business while publicly fighting over privacy. Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said: “ We firmly believe that privacy is a basic human right. And that is our motivation, and that is our motivation . ”
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 56EMZHV-ZcN2RaPycayCs7svfne7yz_j8hYsAdYNDsyD8XUfvLwSTrjUybnVvm-fnKqtoDwYpXX1bXy63vCx15-QpsOtaScgCE2egkU5HRoKCkhzf-8OSrgDoUTv8DtthoCQPM6V
The public fight between two of the world's largest technology companies highlights the enormous impact of the shift to a privacy-first world.
People want privacy
People around the world expect more privacy and control over their data. Tracking transparency requires apps to get user permission before tracking them.
It seems that many people are unwilling to grant such permissions, as most users have opted out. The percentage of users choosing to Allow Tracking was, as of May 2021, 15% globally and just 5% of daily users in the US, according to data from Flurry Analytics .
Consumers demand privacy and ownership over their digital identities. Apple gave people a choice and people chose privacy.
If you think it's just Apple, think again
Major Internet players are announcing updates to data collection policies to improve consumer privacy and transparency. The famous — but perhaps not very popular — third-party cookies, as we know them, are on their last legs.
Most marketers use third-party cookies in their digital campaigns and must prepare to make the privacy switch.
Governance and privacy regulations such as GDPR in Europe, LGPD in Brazil, CCPA in California (USA) and PIPA in South Africa are already enforcing online privacy requirements.
While these advancements empower users, they also impact marketers’ digital advertising efforts.
Advertising is becoming more and more expensive
Ads are proving to be less effective due to the transparency of app tracking.
Take, for example, a brand that advertised a product to men and used to get one customer for every $5 worth of advertising to 1,000 men.
Now, to get the same 1,000 men, the brand will probably have to show it to 2,000 people, because it can no longer extract information about gender.
In other words, that acquisition cost doubled and resulted in a 50% loss in performance.
Since data is no longer available for targeting, ad accuracy is greatly reduced while increasing the cost of driving advertiser performance.
As you can see from that example, social media giants didn’t just lose money. Companies that rely on advertising as their primary acquisition strategy experienced increased costs and a loss of resources as well.
Okay, now what? What can I do to adapt and maintain my brand’s results?
Privacy changes mean that first-party data is no longer an option – it has to be part of your strategy .
With an uncertain future for the online advertising industry, it is time for brands to explore other ways to reach their audiences with high-quality content.
A successful and future-proof marketing strategy should focus on how to obtain high-quality personal data using your channels. This way, you avoid privacy issues and have full control over the data.
It's not true that people don't want to give their data to companies. They may give you details because they trust you and see the value in your offerings.
We're talking about building a real relationship between your customers and your brand. This is the game changer!
That's why organic traffic, SEO and email are becoming increasingly important when combined with high-quality content.
By understanding your buyer’s journey and mapping your content offering accordingly, you can create the right formats to reach your audience at every stage of the funnel.
Companies that win the race to leverage first-party data using their own channels will take the lead in the new era of privacy and have a significant advantage over the competition.
Interactive content can change this panorama in your favor
Most brands don’t focus on capturing first-party data as much as they could with the technology available today. Facebook ads, especially, gave them a cheaper way to target people.
As more marketers decided to use it, the cost started to grow. But now we're talking about losing some of the most important things about ads: targeting intelligence .
How can you solve this? Providing real value to your customers through interactive experiences is an incredible way to capture first-party data and gain a certain independence from the advertising industry and third-party cookies, for example.
Fernanda Donnini
Nov 11, 21 | 5 min read
apple privacy social networks
Reading time: 5 minutes
In a privacy-first, cookie-less world, collecting first-party data linkedin database hrough quality content can be a great way to continue generating leads and revenue.
Last year, Apple announced a new privacy policy that requires apps to ask permission to track users for advertising purposes. App Tracking Transparency was launched as part of iOS 14.5 and requires apps to ask users for permission before tracking them across other apps and websites.
Before this, when you used apps on your iPhone, they could track you across other apps and websites and then send you personalized ads.
At the time of Apple’s new policy’s release, Facebook ran a full-page newspaper ad titled “ Apple vs. Free Internet .” It alleged that changes to Apple’s mobile software would hurt small businesses and consumers, “ changing the Internet as we know it—for the worse .”
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is gIoztOuLJ4_orSWKjMOmR6MsWZQwLNtRkff3_i-ZYEgJO1XHYrHzV2iW_HaYocDcgx-d 6UNl-_ebbwWtSwC1c1U5M27nurH6-f2LpbKiYo27Pgw-4LPqJfvKBN-uB67i8ab3-a5h
According to a recently published Financial Times report , social media giants rely heavily on advertising as it is a major source of revenue. Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube lost around USD 9.85 billion in advertising revenue following Apple’s changes to its privacy practices.
Meanwhile, Apple reported a record quarter for its advertising business while publicly fighting over privacy. Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said: “ We firmly believe that privacy is a basic human right. And that is our motivation, and that is our motivation . ”
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 56EMZHV-ZcN2RaPycayCs7svfne7yz_j8hYsAdYNDsyD8XUfvLwSTrjUybnVvm-fnKqtoDwYpXX1bXy63vCx15-QpsOtaScgCE2egkU5HRoKCkhzf-8OSrgDoUTv8DtthoCQPM6V
The public fight between two of the world's largest technology companies highlights the enormous impact of the shift to a privacy-first world.
People want privacy
People around the world expect more privacy and control over their data. Tracking transparency requires apps to get user permission before tracking them.
It seems that many people are unwilling to grant such permissions, as most users have opted out. The percentage of users choosing to Allow Tracking was, as of May 2021, 15% globally and just 5% of daily users in the US, according to data from Flurry Analytics .
Consumers demand privacy and ownership over their digital identities. Apple gave people a choice and people chose privacy.
If you think it's just Apple, think again
Major Internet players are announcing updates to data collection policies to improve consumer privacy and transparency. The famous — but perhaps not very popular — third-party cookies, as we know them, are on their last legs.
Most marketers use third-party cookies in their digital campaigns and must prepare to make the privacy switch.
Governance and privacy regulations such as GDPR in Europe, LGPD in Brazil, CCPA in California (USA) and PIPA in South Africa are already enforcing online privacy requirements.
While these advancements empower users, they also impact marketers’ digital advertising efforts.
Advertising is becoming more and more expensive
Ads are proving to be less effective due to the transparency of app tracking.
Take, for example, a brand that advertised a product to men and used to get one customer for every $5 worth of advertising to 1,000 men.
Now, to get the same 1,000 men, the brand will probably have to show it to 2,000 people, because it can no longer extract information about gender.
In other words, that acquisition cost doubled and resulted in a 50% loss in performance.
Since data is no longer available for targeting, ad accuracy is greatly reduced while increasing the cost of driving advertiser performance.
As you can see from that example, social media giants didn’t just lose money. Companies that rely on advertising as their primary acquisition strategy experienced increased costs and a loss of resources as well.
Okay, now what? What can I do to adapt and maintain my brand’s results?
Privacy changes mean that first-party data is no longer an option – it has to be part of your strategy .
With an uncertain future for the online advertising industry, it is time for brands to explore other ways to reach their audiences with high-quality content.
A successful and future-proof marketing strategy should focus on how to obtain high-quality personal data using your channels. This way, you avoid privacy issues and have full control over the data.
It's not true that people don't want to give their data to companies. They may give you details because they trust you and see the value in your offerings.
We're talking about building a real relationship between your customers and your brand. This is the game changer!
That's why organic traffic, SEO and email are becoming increasingly important when combined with high-quality content.
By understanding your buyer’s journey and mapping your content offering accordingly, you can create the right formats to reach your audience at every stage of the funnel.
Companies that win the race to leverage first-party data using their own channels will take the lead in the new era of privacy and have a significant advantage over the competition.
Interactive content can change this panorama in your favor
Most brands don’t focus on capturing first-party data as much as they could with the technology available today. Facebook ads, especially, gave them a cheaper way to target people.
As more marketers decided to use it, the cost started to grow. But now we're talking about losing some of the most important things about ads: targeting intelligence .
How can you solve this? Providing real value to your customers through interactive experiences is an incredible way to capture first-party data and gain a certain independence from the advertising industry and third-party cookies, for example.