Apple Is Gaining on Facebook and Google in Advertising Space Following iPhone Privacy Change

Apple is reportedly gaining ground in the online advertising space that has been held in a stranglehold duopoly by Facebook and Google as the two ad giants face massive headwinds caused in part by Apple’s iOS ad tracking transparency feature that improves consumer privacy.

CNBC reports that a recent study by Appsumer found that Apple is gaining ground in the online digital ad space, while Google and Facebook struggle to maintain their duopoly on the market following the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature Apple introduced in iOS 14.

FILE - In this Oct. 25, 2019, file photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks at the Paley Center in New York. FILE - In this April 23, 2021, file photo, the Facebook app is shown in the app store on a smart phone in Surfside, Fla. Facebook on Wednesday, July 14 2021, is asking that the new head of the Federal Trade Commission step away from antitrust investigations into the social network giant, asserting that her past public criticism of the company’s market power makes it impossible for her to be impartial. ( (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, FIle)

Mark Zuckerberg (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, FIle)

Google CEO Sundar Pichai (NurPhoto / Contributor/Getty)

The research by Appsumer was based on an analysis of the online ad budgets of over 100 different consumer app companies and found that Apple has benefited the most from the major iOS privacy update in 2021. The introduction of the App Tracking Transparency feature made it harder for companies such as Facebook to track users across the internet and effectively target ads towards them.

Apple’s search ads allow people to advertise within the iOS App Store. Research showed that the advertiser adoption rate for the second quarter rose almost four percentage points from a year earlier to 94.8 percent, while Facebook adoption fell three percent to 82.8 percent, and Google’s rate declined by two percent to 94.8 percent.

Appsumer stated that Apple has “joined the duopoly of Facebook and Google at the top table of advertiser adoption.” Shumel Lais, the general manager at Appsumer, stated that Apple’s improved advertising figures are likely the result of app developers willing to pay more to increase downloads.

While app developers are paying for more downloads, Apple’s ATT update has limited the amount of data ad-based apps such as Facebook can use to help brands with their online ad campaigns.

“One of the things that’s quite interesting is the ATT measurement limitations that are kind of put on the wider network doesn’t exist in the same way for Apple,” Lais said. “So you could say Apple has slightly more visibility or an advantage across the other channels on iOS.”

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