Stuff

    Subscribe to our newsletter

    What's Hot
    MTN telecoms

    MTN working on a plan to keep its operations going during load shedding

    June 30, 2022
    Top Five Budget Smartphones

    Stuff’s Top Five Budget Smartphones (at the moment)

    June 30, 2022
    Switch to Android

    Google’s Switch to Android app finally supports Android 12 – Here’s how to use it

    June 30, 2022
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube SoundCloud
    Trending
    • MTN working on a plan to keep its operations going during load shedding
    • Stuff’s Top Five Budget Smartphones (at the moment)
    • Google’s Switch to Android app finally supports Android 12 – Here’s how to use it
    • This is what a R65 monthly Snapchat+ subscription buy users
    • FNB cashes in on the fuel price hike by giving away more eBucks when you buy fuel
    • AM.CO.ZA EasyRoute CNC routers score RouterCAM software upgrade, new stock inbound
    • Vodacom’s coding initiative is working to get more girls involved in STEM
    • It’s 2022. Why do we still not have waterproof phones?
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Stuff Stuff
    • News
      • App News
      • Business News
      • Camera News
      • Gaming News
      • Headphone News
      • Industry News
      • Internet News
      • Laptops News
      • Motoring News
      • Other Tech News
      • Phone News
      • Tablet News
      • Technology News
      • TV News
      • Wearables News
    • Reviews
      • Camera Reviews
      • Car Reviews
      • Featured Reviews
      • Game Reviews
      • Headphone Reviews
      • Laptop Reviews
      • Other Tech Reviews
      • Phone Reviews
      • Tablet Reviews
      • Wearables Reviews
    • Columns
    • Stuff Guides
    • Podcasts & Videos
      • Videos
      • Stuffed
      • Stuffing Around
      • Tech Byte
      • T2S2
    • Win
    • Subscribe
      • Print
      • Digital
        • Google Play
        • iTunes
        • Download
        • Zinio
    • Stuff Shop
      • Shop Now
      • My Account
      • Downloads
    • Contact Us
      • Get In Touch
      • Advertise
    0 Shopping Cart
    Stuff
    Home » Columns » Apple’s ad-tracking costs social media $10bn
    Columns

    Apple’s ad-tracking costs social media $10bn

    Toby ShapshakBy Toby ShapshakJanuary 7, 2022No Comments3 Mins Read
    Apple ad tracking
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    How much does privacy costs? It’s a theoretical question most of the time this debate about surveillance capitalism is had.

    But we now have a number – albeit an interesting test case involving only Apple.

    After it introduced controversial privacy settings early last year, which reduced the ability for advertisers to track iPhone users and their app activity, it has cost social media giants as much as $10bn (R156bn).

    Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube lost about $9.85bn (R153bn) since Apple introduced its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) in April 2021, according to an investigation by The Financial Times.

    Under the new privacy policy introduced as part of the iOS14.5 update, iPhone owners can opt-out of being tracked by advertisers – and clearly have in droves.

    Over the years the advertising industry has gotten more aggressive in what data it tracks, and just as aggressive in data-mining this personal information.

    When Apple announced these changes in 2020, Facebook took the unusual step of running full-page adverts in major US newspapers in December 2020, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

    “We’re standing up to Apple for small businesses everywhere,” shouted the headline, as usual with no awareness of the irony of the world’s biggest social media giant trying to claim its data-hoarding business model somehow makes it easier for small businesses.

    Clearly only Facebook itself and its advertising agency think this is true. It’s a common complaint from big tech firms that they are champions for small businesses – despite all evidence to the contrary.

    Apple’s ATT is an important step in the right direction in terms of privacy, but also a demonstration that the sky didn’t fall on our heads as the social media giants wailed when this privacy setting was introduced.

    “Apple moving from a stance of ‘tracking is sanctioned by default’ to ‘tracking is only sanctioned when a user opts in’ is a big, big deal,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Bennett Cyphers told The Washington Post.

    ATT stops advertisers from tracking iPhone users using a specific handset tracking system known as ID for Advertisers (IDFA).

    When people opt out of this tracking, it reduces what these digital advertising networks can learn about us from our internet usage. I was horrified when I first discovered how much detail an app can collect. Of course, the app says such data is anonymous but numerous revelations (especially by The New York Times) have demonstrated how open to abuse this anonymised data can be. In one instance, the paper was able to track a specific person’s activity and where she went in the world – which just happened to be the day she went to an abortion clinic.

    I have turned off all such seemingly helpful messages to apps, which I suggest everyone else does too. If you haven’t been shown pop-ups on your iPhone to turn them off, you can do so by going to Settings > Privacy > Tracking and unticking “allow apps to request to track”.

    A major theme of last year was how privacy controls have started appearing in the tech and internet space. If you haven’t already, start turning off the taps of surveillance capitalism. We all deserve our privacy.

    • This article first appeared in The Financial Mail

    Ad tracking App Tracking Transparency Apple Facebook iPhone privacy
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Tumblr Email
    Toby Shapshak

    Toby Shapshak is editor-in-chief and publisher of Stuff, a Forbes contributor and a Financial Mail columnist. He has been writing about technology and the internet for 20 years and his TED Global talk on innovation in Africa has over 1,5-million views. He has written about Africa's tech and start-up ecosystem for Forbes, CNN and The Guardian in London. He was named in GQ's top 30 men in media and the Mail & Guardian newspaper's influential young South Africans. He has been featured in the New York Times. GQ said he "has become the most high-profile technology journalist in the country" while the M&G wrote: "Toby Shapshak is all things tech... he reigns supreme as the major talking head for everything and anything tech."

    Related Posts

    waterproof

    It’s 2022. Why do we still not have waterproof phones?

    June 30, 2022
    iphone

    The iPhone turns 15: a look at the past (and future) of one of the 21st century’s most influential devices

    June 29, 2022

    WhatsApp adding the ability to order directly from businesses via the app

    June 28, 2022

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    In The Mag
    Stuff June-July 2022 Latest Issue

    In This Issue – The Outdoors (June-July 2022) Issue

    By Brett VenterMay 30, 20221

    Once again, we are asking you to check out a new issue of Stuff Magazine.…

    2021 Wish List
    wish list Stuff Wish List 2021

    Stuff Wish List: for the tech impaired

    By Duncan PikeDecember 22, 20210

    Are you from the time before being glued to a smartphone was considered normal? Here’s…

    Wishlist DIY Stuff tech

    Stuff Wish List: for the DIY Diehard

    December 21, 2021
    Wish List Gearhead

    Stuff Wish List: For the petrol-soaked gearhead

    December 20, 2021
    outsiders

    Stuff Wish List: for the Outsiders

    December 17, 2021

    Latest Video

    Sonos

    SONOS Roam SL unboxing by Toby Shapshak

    March 30, 2022
    Mini Cooper

    The Mini Cooper SE Electric with Toby Shapshak

    March 18, 2022
    MSI Crosshair 15 Rainbox Six Extraction Edition unboxing

    MSI Crosshair 15 Rainbox Six Extraction Edition unboxing

    March 16, 2022
    Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Unboxing

    Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra unboxing with Toby Shapshak

    March 16, 2022
    Contact

    South Africa's Consumer Tech News Hub

    General: [email protected]
    Subscriptions: [email protected] or 087 353 1291
    Editorial: 072 735 2614
    Sales: 083 375 2418

    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube SoundCloud

    Subscribe to Updates

    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy & POPI
    • My account
    © 2022 Stuff Group. Designed by Chronon.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.