iOS16.4 and How it Will Affect Meta Ads
Apple’s operating system update, iOS16 released in September, 2022, and after a few bug and software improvements came iOS16.4 on March 27, 2023.
So, why is this blog-worthy?
There has been a lot of buzz around the iOS 16 update and its impact on advertisers. In a recent conversation between Brad Redding from Elevar, Noah King from Popsixle, and Brett Fish and Simeon Bateman from TagHero, these industry experts talked about what advertisers need to know and how they can prepare for the changes.
The first thing to keep in mind with iOS16.4 is that it takes time for these updates to reach critical mass. Therefore, by May 2023 it is still a little too early to draw any firm conclusions about its impact. However, one thing is clear: it is not something that advertisers should be overly concerned about.
The most important thing to note for advertisers about iOS16.4:
The changes in iOS 16.4 are more closing loopholes than anything else, and should have minimal, to no impact on most advertisers. For those that were trying to use a workaround the current setup/restrictions with “cloaking”, etc., and trying to bypass the protections put in place, this may cause issues. But any of the “doomsday” talk going around seems to be a lot of misinformation at this point.
It’s important to mention the ongoing cat-and-mouse game between advertisers and privacy constraints. In the podcast, Brad suggested that advertisers should focus on capturing user data and session info, rather than relying solely on cookies. This is a better long-term strategy, as relying on cookies is becoming increasingly challenging. We must pivot to using tools that do not use cookie data to gather insight.
Since the update rolled out in late March, and it takes a while for iOS updates to reach mass adoption/uptake, we’re going to continue watching data and will update the thread if we notice any developments.