What is an IDFA (and How Will Apple’s iOS 14 Update Impact Advertisers)?

 
BREAKING NEWS: Facebook Releases Update on iOS14 Guidelines

Want to learn more? Check out “The Future of the Web” to find out everything you need to know about the new restrictions, cookies, IDFA, first-party data, and all things privacy from our Tinuiti experts.
– Apple, Inc.

What is an IDFA?

Apple announced that, as part of the iOS 14 update, it will be giving users the choice to block the IDFA identifier at the app level. Among other changes, what this means is the iOS 14 update will require apps to ask users for permission to collect and share data.

What is Apple Planning for IDFAs?

Apple’s SKAdNetwork enables privacy-safe to install attribution and measurement. This framework appends attribution parameters upon the ad click, so when the app is installed and opened for the first time it will send an install postback to the ad network including information such as campaign ID. Currently, the SKAdNetwork has had very low adoption levels from ad networks.
– Kolin Kleveno, SVP of Addressable Audiences at Tinuiti

If you have a mobile app, you’ll need to update your measurement SDK to the latest version to ensure proper tracking on iOS devices. 
For people who choose to opt-out, it doesn’t mean they will no longer see ads, it just means the ads they see will just not be personalized to them and potentially irrelevant.
Ad Measurement – Mobile Measurement Partners (MMPs) built their measurement and fraud capabilities around the IDFA identifier. While Apple has announced a replacement API (SKAdNetwork) that will allow for conversion data to be passed back at the campaign level, we’re still going to see a reduction in the fidelity of data that MMPs have to identify fraud and performance across mobile campaigns. 

Why is Apple Making Changes to IDFAs?

Brands must not wait to prepare for the inevitable loss of ad targeting and measurement, which is going to have an impact that goes way beyond mobile campaigns.

When Will IDFA Changes Take Place?

If you have questions about preparing for iOS 14, feel free to reach out to us!

How Will the Apple iOS 14 IDFA Update Impact Advertisers?

Currently, about 70% of IOS users share their IDFA with app publishers, after this change it’s estimated that this number will drop to 10% to 15%.
During their annual Developers Conference, Apple revealed new features of iOS 14, their upcoming operating system for iPhones and iPads, which will include large changes to privacy management that have the potential to greatly impact how mobile is utilized for insights, targeting, and attribution.
In the following post, we cover everything advertisers need to know about the iOS 14 update including our expert recommendations for the next steps.
– Nii Ahene, Chief Strategy Officer at Tinuiti
Advertisers will be impacted in the areas listed below:
Ad Targeting – Many targeting types (including retargeting to users based on device-level targeting) will no longer work for users that have opted out of sharing their IDFA. Platforms like Google and Facebook have other deterministic variables they can use to identify devices (email, phone number) but other programmatic platforms that don’t have such deterministic ID graph information are likely to see a reduction in targetable audiences.

How Will the Apple iOS 14 IDFA Update Impact Users?

IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) is a unique identifier for mobile devices and is used to target and measure the effectiveness of advertising on a user level across mobile devices.

We expect the release of iOS 14 in the early Spring of 2021 (the date is still TBD). That being said, just because we don’t know the exact date, doesn’t mean advertisers should kick back and relax. We work as if the date is tomorrow. Once this launches, you don’t want to be behind the ball.

“The advertising industry will rally together and develop new, alternative methods for delivering targeted advertising. We will see a wave of new measurement solutions and identifiers emerge in a collective effort to set new privacy-compliant industry standards.”
This pop-up notification follows a similar approach to Apple’s iOS 13 update which informed users that an app was tracking their location and offered the choice to “always allow”, “limit its use”, or “deny access”. Additionally, iOS 14 users will have a dashboard for “App Privacy” to see what permissions their apps have access to.

What Are The Next Steps for Advertisers?

According to reports, Apple has taken the strategic stance that privacy is a user right and is currently taking steps to grant users more ability to opt-out of any type of targeting or tracking. This change is expected to occur across Apple’s entire product portfolio.

“First-party data is king. Our advice to all advertisers is to start the process of creating a usable identity graph of customers and prospects with an email address and/or phone numbers as your primary key to ensure your organization can continue to market on a 1 to 1 level across ad products”

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in November 2020 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.
Preview of the Apple iOS14

Follow this checklist for general updates [Updated February 2021]:

• Get ready to implement the ATT prompt in your app for early Spring implementation (exact timing from Apple TBD)
• Update your SDKs (MMP, Facebook, Firebase, etc.) to support SkAdNetwork and Apple Search Ads Framework
• Set Conversion Value Schema
• Talk to your Tinuiti team (or the agency you are working with) to discuss how to set-up each channel moving forward as well as success metrics for paid media
• Do a “Tech Stack Evaluation” and make sure there is consistency across your stack to ensure there are no breaks in reporting/attribution
• Focus on building a “First Party Data Strategy”
• Build a strategy for mobile engagement after the first install or action leveraging marketing tools like email, push notifications, in-app messages, SMS, and/or chatbots

Frequently Asked Questions about IDFA and iOS 14 Update

Most platforms (Facebook, Google, Snapchat, TikTok, DSPs, MMPs, etc.) will be using SkAdNetwork, and Apple Search Ads will have its own framework.
Apple has announced that it will give users the ability to choose to block the sharing of this unique identifier at the App level. Previously, consumers had to opt-out. Now when a user installs or updates the new iOS, a prompt will appear alerting the user to opt-in or opt-out of the sharing of this information.  
After all, Limited Ad Tracking (LAT) has been a feature on iOS devices for years, albeit buried in the settings of iOS. This new privacy prompt follows closely to the previous privacy initiatives Apple already put in place on its Safari browser, where it restricts third party cookies and limits the use of first-party cookies.
In a recent webinar, our top advertising experts answer the most frequently asked questions about the upcoming iOS 14 update including our recommendations for the next steps. You can check out the entire recap here.
The changes to Apple’s IDFA are not unexpected as Apple has taken the public and strategic stance that privacy is a user right. Apple has repeatedly taken steps across its product portfolio to give users the ability to opt-out of any type of targeting or tracking.