The Renewed Conversion API of Facebook and IOS14.5

As most people know, Apple is always updating its iOS with new features and patch fixes. The newest one in particular has created quite the buzz all over.. There has been a rather widespread fear that advertising results, especially those to do with Facebook, will be irreparably damaged. It’s so prevalent that it even reached news sources such as BBC, Forbes, Wired, and more are talking about it. So what’s the hype about Facebook’s conversion API all about?

What’s Facebook’s Conversion API All About?

The newest update has made some waves, and for good reason. Internet users are typically tracked through cookies in the browser of their choice. This means that choosing a different browser could affect the cookies that are able to track your usage. With the Conversion API (CAPI), however, a user’s movement can be tracked on a website server instead. Facebook pixel is generally installed with HTML code on a website; that code has a tendency, however, to get caught by web browser ad blockers.

Safari, Apple’s own web browser, is able to get to web browsers like Google Chrome as well. As they move to make things more secure, crawling through the HTML code of a website will be through those browsers. It’ll likely have any updates render tracking codes like Facebook pixel blocked.

How are Facebook Ads Affected by the New iOS14 Update?

As any online marketing agency will tell you, the answer can be simple but the situation is complex. Data collection is essentially going to be interrupted, applicable to iPads as well as iPhones. It remains to be seen if this goes all the way to MacBooks, the laptops of Apple.

Advertisers can make use of Facebook pixel to place a cookie on someone’s smartphone. That gives access for data including, but not limited to:

• Services or products being clicked on
• Specific pages being visited
• Whether things are being added to online shopping carts.

Obviously, this is an advantage for advertisers. Customers, however, may not feel the same way. Many people agree that this level of tracking is overstepping boundaries when it comes to behavior and privacy. As a result, Apple has had investigations launched at them on a government level in some places. That means the possibility of Facebook pixels’ abilities or powers being blocked is pretty high.

Tim Cook—the current chief executive officer of Apple—had to face the United States Congress about just this very thing in 2020. This is because it was necessary for him to lay out what their business is, alongside what it is their intentions are. From that alone, the company has been doing their best for their customers to feel safe using their services. That said, Apple isn’t alone in this. California’s Privacy Rights as well as the GDPR of the EU are also moving to limit the conversion tracking abilities of Facebook.

Conclusion

While having access to the data of consumers is a great asset for advertisers, it raises some problems. Tracking user behavior and their activities or movement online has been met with issues regarding privacy. With the current update of IOS, code of trackers such as Facebook pixel are blocked. Data collection is considerably interrupted.

Are you looking for a digital advertising agency in Birmingham to help you navigate the latest online advertising trends and what they mean for your business? Contact Nick The Marketer today! We’re a full-service digital marketing agency focused on lead generation through website design, SEO, PPC and social media management.