The news: Ad spending on iOS devices is noticeably declining as more users install iOS 14.5 and above, which features Apple’s anti-tracking AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) framework. The framework allows users to decide whether to give a certain app permission to track them across other apps and websites. Deeper into the numbers:.

How we got here: In April, Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) update came into effect, where users were asked if they wanted their activity in certain apps to be tracked. The results: Approximately 23% of worldwide iOS users have opted in to being tracked, according to app analytics provider Flurry.

It’s being pushed in this direction from both user concerns and other players, including Apple, whose iOS AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) prompts will affect Facebook’s revenue growth, the company has admitted. The bigger picture:.

With iOS 14.5 upgrades well underway, Apple’s privacy updates and ATT (App Tracking Transparency) enforcement will continue to impact advertisers’ ability to garner insights and attribute campaigns.

How we got here: In April, Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) update came into effect, where users were asked if they wanted their activity in certain apps to be tracked. Only 23% of worldwide iOS users have opted in to being tracked, according to app analytics provider Flurry. That means Facebook, which attracts the most ad spend of any platform, is hard-pressed to track conversions.

Apple had originally announced its AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) framework would go into effect in September 2020, and that change was put off until April 26, 2021. Under ATT, users must opt in to allow advertisers to track them across devices, on a per-app basis. Previously, users had been able to opt out of sharing their Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA).

Understanding how marketing touchpoints contribute to revenues is one of marketers’ most challenging yet vital tasks. Being able to demonstrate this contribution can turn marketing from a cost center into an investment that effectively drives market share gains for a business. Even with the rise of digital advertising, attribution has remained difficult at best—but more marketers continue to work on the problem.

To track or not to track? New data on iOS app tracking opt-in rates contradicts earlier estimates, but may ultimately offer a clearer glimpse into consumers’ real behavior.

Apple had originally announced its AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) framework would go into effect in September 2020, and that change was put off until April 26, 2021. A look at what’s transpired with ATT:. Under ATT, users must opt in to allow advertisers to track them across devices, on a per-app basis. Previously, users had been able to opt out of sharing their Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA).

But consumer privacy and data protection regulations, along with infrastructural changes like Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) framework and the eventual deprecation of third-party cookies, are making ad targeting more difficult.

Facebook, for example, will show users an “educational” screen before the official ATT prompt detailing how it plans to use the IDFA to improve a user’s experience—all in an attempt to nudge that user to press “allow.”

The upcoming iOS 15 changes, while still more limited than the pre-ATT state of affairs, are a much-needed aid for advertisers looking to optimize their measurement and attribution as much as possible in the privacy-centric world that Apple is building.

According to AppsFlyer data as of a July 13 update (drawn from a sample of 31 million instances where users saw the App Tracking Transparency [ATT] prompt across 3,090 apps), 46% of users worldwide with any version of iOS 14 had authorized tracking via an ATT prompt. In the US, the overall opt-in rate was 37%.

How to Confront Today’s Challenges, Including ATT and the Deprecation of the Third-Party Cookie. The perceived measurability and accountability of digital media have been among the biggest factors attracting advertiser budgets for years, but proving ROI has never been more important.

Apple is facing yet another potential hurdle to IDFA: As Chinese tech companies work on a new way to track users on mobile devices, Apple will be faced with either barring a slew of Chinese developers altogether or forging ahead on a policy with no teeth.