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CTOnews.com, December 2 (Xinhua) although Apple has a very good reputation for privacy protection, it doesn't mean that Apple really cares about users' privacy. In the "Data-Driven Thinking" column, Uriah Av-Ron, the founder of Oasis PR and a veteran media expert with nearly 20 years of experience, made the above comments.

"the truth is, if we monetized user data and treated users as our products, we would have made a lot of money already," UnsplashTim Cook said in 2018. "We've decided not to do that."

"We don't think we should collect detailed information about users, and there should be no way to piece together accurate information from different sources," Cook said. because if these information materials are abused, they will threaten our democracy and will be abused by advertisers.

CTOnews.com learned that in order to make Apple Search Ads more accurate to users, Apple will use information such as users' Apple ID accounts for accurate advertising in 2022. The data used by Apple includes historical information about users' transactions on App Store, lists of apps and games downloaded by users, and users' behavior of paying for internal purchases.

Isn't that how Apple cashes out user data?

Double standard

While Apple allows itself to monetize user data, it prevents others from getting a piece of the pie.

This is mainly because Apple AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) plans to limit the advertising precision of Apple device manufacturers to the first-party data, which means that only Apple can enjoy this "benefit".

As Eric Seufert points out, in Apple Search Ads's consent form, Apple describes its purpose of collecting and using behavioral data for accurate advertising as "personalization".

But if third-party apps want to join the ATT program, they need to tell users "how to track you in apps and websites owned by other companies." So what do you think users will do when they see these prompts?

In this regard, Afron believes that Apple is very "hypocritical" in this respect. Cook publicly said in 2008 that it was a wrong decision to cash in customer data, but why are you still doing it in 2022?

Privacy is important, but accurate advertising is also important.

In recent years, the privacy debate has focused on large companies such as Apple, Meta, Google and Snapchat. But the end of Apple's Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) has a bigger impact on the rest of the digital advertising ecosystem.

In response to the Federal Trade Commission's proposed draft on business monitoring and data security, Garrett Johnson, a professor at Boston University, argues that accurate target data is good for marketers, publishers and consumers from an academic and industry research perspective.

Johnson's research found that cross-site / application identification creates great value for advertisers by improving target positioning, measurement, and optimization.

Facebook has shown in a large-scale experiment of "targeted delivery to optimize advertising conversion rates" that if precise targeting is not used, the cost of getting customers will increase by 37 per cent. The study also shows that small and medium-sized enterprises suffer to varying degrees as a result of eliminating cross-website identity.

Johnson points out that if publishers, content creators and news sites do not use cookies and third-party data for precise positioning, then revenue will naturally be affected. Google's research supports this view, which shows that advertising prices have fallen by 52 per cent due to the loss of cookie.

However, when the accurate positioning fails, it is still the consumers who will eventually pay the bill. And the survey shows that consumers are more willing to see more relevant product recommendations, and this process requires accurate advertising.

Afron said it was shocking that Apple marketed privacy as a point of revenue growth. After all, advertising generates relatively small revenue compared to Apple's high returns from product lines such as iPhone and iPad. Apple's advertising business, like anyone else's advertising business, relies on user data.

At the end of the article, Afron called on Cook and Apple to treat users' privacy sincerely, rather than a "disguise" of realization. If Apple really wants to develop its advertising business, it's time to make a point.

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