June 25, 2021
It is hard to keep up with Apple’s privacy related updates lately. Almost every week there is a new announcement that directly impacts brands’ marketing initiatives, publishers’ monetization efforts, or tech companies’ custom identity solutions. This week is no exception. With the rollout of iOS 15, Apple announced several new privacy features including:
- Hide My Email – When a user visits an app/website with Apple email authentication, users can now choose to provide a randomly generated email address instead of their actual email address. It will be unique to that app/website and cannot be used to communicate with any other app or service.
- iCloud Private Relay – For paid iCloud subscribers, the private relay feature will act as a VPN. Those browsing on Safari will be able to hide their identity completely from websites and Apple. Their data will be fully encrypted and protected.
- App Privacy Reports – Building on the iOS 14.5 release allowing users to opt into app tracking, users will now have access to a dashboard that shows what data is collected, the frequency of data collection (related to cameras, microphones, and geography), and how much data is shared with third parties.
What does this mean for you?
- Identity Uncertainty – If you as a brand or publisher offer sign-on with apple, users that opt-in to this feature will no longer be sending a useful email that can be matched against other mail based data. For example, if a UID2.0 is created from an Apple-specific email, it won’t match the previously collected inventory/data.
- True User Control – Not only do users have the ability to opt into user sharing, once they do they have full transparency into how and where their data is used. This gives the user more individual control than ever before.
What should you do next?
- Focus on capturing real authenticated emails – establish a process for separating the randomly generated emails from real emails by appending other digital identifiers. This will allow you to mitigate risk.
- Provide Real Value for Data Collection – There has to be a benefit for users to give apps/publishers/brands their personal data. Transparency on what data is collected and how it is being used will be key to building user trust and garnering valuable first-party data.
While Apple is looking to establish itself as the leader in consumer privacy protection, this leaves many marketers asking questions about the future effectiveness of their marketing efforts. Additionally, apps and publishers that provide free services will need to find new ways to monetize their efforts in order to stay in business. At the very least, these changes will result in innovation by many companies in order to thrive in the privacy-centric future.
TrueData is here to help and offers solutions that can help ensure continued addressability. Schedule a meeting with our team to discuss your identity needs further.
