Facebook, Inc (NASDAQ: FB) has cast blame on Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) and its policies, citing that the company caused it to underreport ad performance on iPhones.The social media giant outlines that Apple introduced some privacy changes to its iOS operating system, a move that has complicated reporting.
The figures
Facebook gave an estimate of the web conversions it underreported, outlining that the figure went down by 15% in the third quarter.
The vice president of product marketing at Facebook, Graham Mudd, has confirmed that the real-world conversions have been higher than the figures the advertisers have been presenting. The leader had been talking about the app installs and sales conversions. A turn in events has caused Facebook shares to perform poorly, moving down by 4% on Monday’s reporting.
Facebook CFO David Wehner happens to be one of the top officials that have spoken continuously about the dangers posed by Apple’s moves. He had been open in describing the potential effect of the iOS changes, asserting that it would impact their earnings negatively. The official made the remarks during the July earnings call.
Analysts have been looking closely into what Apple has been trying to do with its iPhone and iPad users. Its new update gives the users the kind of freedom that might curtail Facebook’s tracking activities. The users choose what to do upon the launch of the app. Then, they determine whether or not they would like to be tracked.
Mudd speaks out
Facebook and several other apps have over the years turned to specialized tracking, something that has paved the way to the channeling of more personalized ads to users.
Mudd opines, “We’re optimistic about our multi-year effort to develop new privacy-enhancing technologies that minimize the amount of personal information we process, while still allowing us to show personalized ads and measure their effectiveness.”
Facebook has reached out to advertisers and enlightened them on some of the actions they could implement in their quest to understand their ad performance in a much better way. It pointed to the need to wait longer before analyzing data, citing that such a move could open up their minds to the use of additional measurement tools.
