Snap CEO Says Apple's App Tracking Transparency is the Cause Behind their Revenue Drop

Apple's latest privacy changes prompt users to have the freedom to choose if they want to be tracked using third-party applications.

Many companies allowed the App Tracking Transparency policy at first, but some firms such as Snap have been affected by the implementation.

According to the company CEO, their revenue has met a significant drop following the impact of Cupertino giant's iOS privacy policy on its ad tracking business.

App Tracking Transparency Causes Snap Shares' Drop

Snap Inc. Hosts Inaugural Snap Partner Summit In Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 04: Snap Inc. Co-Founder and CEO Evan Spiegel discuss the future of the Snapchat camera at the Snap Partner Summit at The Lot Studios on April 04, 2019 in West Hollywood, California. Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Snap Inc.

According to an article by 9to5Mac on Thursday, Oct.21, Snap said that based on the report on Q3 2021, the revenue of the company was only more than $1 million. The social media giant was expecting that it would exceed $3 million more than the actual revenue.

Evan Spiegel, the CEO of the camera company, said that what caused their revenue to plummet was Apple's iOS ad tracking changes. The privacy policy reportedly disrupted Snap's mobile advertisement business.

"Our advertising business was disrupted by changes to iOS ad tracking that were broadly rolled out by Apple in June and July," Spiegel announced during a meeting with some analysts.

Furthermore, the Snap CEO pointed out that Apple's privacy changes did not "scale" as they expected to happen. This has driven their ad partners to experience difficulties in managing the targeted advertisements for iOs users.

Despite the decrease in revenue, Snap saw a significant increase in the number of daily users. There were 13 million active subscribers who frequently visited the page in Q2 2021.

Currently, Snap recorded 306 million daily active users, which is a new record for the company. Somehow, the use of its revenue has lightened a little bit for Spiegel.

Spiegel said that the revenue plunge was indeed a "frustrating setback," as per Engadget's report. However, he stressed out that Apple's iOS privacy changes are considered to be "important" for the overall system of the company.

Apple Search Ads Reaps Benefits From App Tracking Transparency

From a report by Apple Insider, the sponsored text ads seem to be enjoying the advantage of having the Cupertino firm's privacy changes this year.

With the entrance of App Tracking Transparency, Apple's Search Ads saw a huge jump in usage. The iPhone app downloads account for 58%. Last year, the usage only reached 17%.

Moreover, the push for this technology could prompt Apple to earn $5 billion from ads alone. This is equivalent to its revenue gained within three years.

App Tracking Transparency Impacts Facebook and Twitter

In May, we reported that the Ad Tracking feature had arrived on Twitter. According to the social media giant, the app tracking capability would show relevant ads that fit your preference. You also have the option if you want to allow it or not on your app.

On the other hand, Facebook has a different approach with the feature. According to the company's COO, the company is preparing to do massive work with the launch of App Tracking.

The representative explained that Facebook would be forced to think of a new way to inform its users that the ads are user-friendly.

Related Article: iOS 14.5 to Have Controversial Security Update: App Tracking Transparency Will Arrive, Soon

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joseph Henry

ⓒ 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Join the Discussion
Real Time Analytics