For a brief moment, imagine that the iOS14 update is about privacy, and not a power grab between egotistical corporate giants 😬. And let’s go back and briefly address what ‘this’ is all about for ecommerce brands — and what they need to do about it.

Here’s what’s happened:

Apple now requires that all apps in the App Store show a tracking permission prompt to users on iOS 14 devices.
Apple’s policy will prohibit certain data collection and sharing unless people opt into tracking.
As more people opt out of tracking on iOS 14 devices, ad personalization and performance reporting will be limited for both app and web conversion events.

Here’s what it means:

As users opt out of being tracked, it will limit the ability of apps like Facebook to offer effective advertising solutions to reach unique customer profiles.
For reference, 45% of mobile devices in the United States operate on iOS.
Facebook pixels will only offer a maximum of 8 conversion events for each website domain.
The default 28 day click and view attribution window on Facebook will be removed and a 7 day click will become the new default.
Facebook estimates that without personalized ads powered by their own data, they estimate small businesses could see a cut of over 60% of website sales from ads. And yet —
Facebook is selling, but we’re not buying. Yes, advertisers won’t have access to all of the data that they had before. But they won’t lose visibility entirely. Attribution will take a hit, but that means you just have to understand your data better. Good ads and strong targeting will still drive sales and grow brands — just like they always have.

Here’s what you should do:

If using the Facebook SDK to promote/advertise an app, update the SDK to version 8.1
If using the Facebook pixel - make sure your domain is verified in Business Manager (How? Glad you asked):
1. 1. First, log into business.facebook.com and add the developer as a user on the business and grant them admin level access.
2. 2. From there, the web developer should be able to access the business manager account to begin the verification process:
3. 3. Go to Business Settings > Brand Safety > Domains
4. 4. Click the add button to add all domains that you track with the Facebook pixel.
5. 5. Complete the verification process for each domain. There are three choices to process verification: DNS Verification, HTML File Upload and Meta-tag Verification. Instructions for each are shown below as examples only, the verification code should be unique to the brand’s account.
With dynamic ads, if you use multiple domains in your catalog, verify each website domain that you use as a product URL and avoid using any product URLs that redirect to another domain.
Continue to build up your first party databases - as privacy becomes more of a concern, first part data becomes a priority. It can be used to retarget your existing audience and to assist in prospective audience modeling.
Diversify Your Strategy - Broaden your marketing efforts and avoid relying on single channel initiatives to grow your business. Consider how different channels work together to drive results and build your brand. And measure them!

Resources

The Verge: Facebook Criticizes iOS Privacy Changes with Full Size Newspaper Ads

Facebook Announcement 12/16/2020: Speaking Up For Small Businesses

Facebook Help Article: How Apple’s iOS Changes May Affect Your Ads