Apple’s privacy change will increase its App Store power

The digital advertising world is scrambling to prepare for a seismic change when Apple updates its iPhone software in the coming weeks.

The update, called App Tracking Transparency, or ATT, will now force app makers to ask permission before they can collect a unique identifier on every iOS device called an identifier for advertisers, or IDFA. It is expected that a significant proportion of users will say no. Today, IDFA is used by developers and advertisers to target mobile ads and measure how effective they are.

Apple announced the privacy change to its platform last June.

Digital advertising professionals say that this could be a side benefit for Apple as it will have increased power over its App Store, giving Apple more control over different apps that get popular and gross millions through the store.

This change could make it difficult for app makers to draw consumers to download their apps through in-app advertisements. At the same time, this will help Apple guide consumers to the apps that it wants to highlight in the App Store for its own business purposes. 

The move could also boost Apple’s ads for app downloads that appear directly inside the App Store also known as Search Ads.

Apple’s App Store and advertising business, part of its services business are investors to growth. It generated a 16% increase in revenue of $53.8 billion in fiscal 2020 from the previous year.

“We believe privacy is a basic human right and that users should have transparency and choice about how their data is collected and used,” Apple commented.