Apple iOS 14.5 und Tracking

With the release of Apple iOS 14.5, users now have the option to decide whether they want to continue receiving ads or block them. This topic has a significant impact on Facebook and Instagram. But what does this mean for businesses that have previously relied on performance marketing and the associated retargeting on Facebook? Our team explains the key points for you.

What changes does the Apple iOS 14.5 update include?

The new version includes the tracking protection app "Tracking Transparency", where users must consent upon app startup for the application to track their usage across multiple apps for marketing purposes.

If consent is not given, iPhone users will receive a message from Facebook and Instagram apps asking them to activate the advertising ID in order to continue using both platforms free of charge in the future.

What happens when the advertising ID is disabled on users' iPhones?

The advertising ID enables app providers to track the use of the app for marketing activities and link it to a user profile. Apple wants to limit this practice with the new anti-tracking version. It is interesting to note that even when the advertising ID is disabled, apps still collect usage data and pass it on to the app provider. However, if the advertising ID is missing, the collected user data is not linked to the user profile.

What effects does the Apple update have on performance online marketing?

The iOS 14.5 version introduces a significant restriction on device-specific advertising IDs. Tracking is now only possible if the consumer explicitly grants permission.

If the user declines, conversions can no longer be clearly attributed to third-party providers such as Facebook. To compensate for this, Apple provides Private Click Measurements (PCM), which enable clicks on ads to be attributed but prevent free tracking across different websites.

As a result, app-to-web conversion tracking is no longer possible across domains. This means businesses no longer have the option to include app users in retargeting. Consequently, the audience is reduced, which often becomes evident in the reporting.

Additionally, the standard attribution window for clicks has been shortened from 28 to 7 days. The consequence of this is that any purchases or transactions not explicitly made within this 7-day window can no longer be clearly attributed to specific Facebook ads. As a result, fewer conversion events are often reported in campaign reporting on Facebook.

What can advertisers do to maintain performance?

For sustainable performance marketing, it is crucial that your domain is verified in the Facebook Business Manager. This ensures that the selected business manager is indeed associated with your company. This action is particularly important when working with pixel tracking and managing multiple business managers.

By verifying your domain, you ensure that conversion events such as "purchase" or "add to cart" are prioritized when users opt out of the iOS 14.5 update. A verified domain supports the configuration of conversion events and optimizes campaign performance.

In practice, the “Aggregated Event Measurement” provided by Facebook can be used for this purpose, which also allows measurement with restricted data usage.

Our experts also recommend limiting the number of conversion events per domain and clearly prioritizing the most important events. Additionally, integrating a conversion API enables improved tracking and can be used in conjunction with the Facebook Pixel.

Thanks to the conversion API, no pixel is needed anymore, as the measurement is done through server events, regardless of whether a pixel is implemented or not. In case of doubt, both the data from the Facebook Pixel and the conversion API can be analyzed.

It is important to note that pixel tracking will become more difficult in the future, not only due to iOS updates, but also due to an increasing number of ad blockers.

Our conclusion: For businesses, it is essential to remain flexible and adaptable in the online advertising market. Measurable success in performance marketing strongly depends on how well campaigns and ads are optimized while simultaneously considering data protection regulations.

Contact our performance marketing agency team on this topic, and let’s work together to structure workflows and align campaigns so they can reach their full potential.