(Reuters) – Apple Inc. said on Thursday that new emerging privacy notifications will begin appearing on most iPhones as soon as “early spring”, a requirement that major digital advertising companies like Facebook Inc. have warned they will hurt their business.
Punctual notifications will require an app developer to request permission from a user before the app tracks their activities “through other companies’ apps and websites.” Digital advertising experts believe the warning will cause many users to refuse permission.
Apple announced the move last June, but said in September it would delay the change to give digital advertisers more time to adjust.
Facebook said in December that it planned to show the pop-up notification because it did not want Apple iPhone users to lose access to their apps.
On Wednesday, in a earnings call, Facebook executives told investors that the change could begin to hurt the company’s revenue during the first quarter, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg accusing Apple of having “all the incentives to use its dominant platform position to interfere with the way our applications other applications work “.
Apple reported Wednesday that it had an active installed base of 1.652 billion devices, more than 1 billion of which are iPhones, with 620 million subscribers paying for their devices.
For its part, Google of Alphabet Inc. said Tuesday it would stop practicing, including the use of a tracking ID provided by Apple, which would require it to display the warning, avoiding it.
Apple has said it offers free alternative technology that will help advertisers attribute clicks and payouts without participating in what Apple considers tracking.
Google said Tuesday it is working proactively with Apple to improve the alternative offering.
Apple said Wednesday it will launch new tools such as a way to attribute clicks made to video ads.
Report by Stephen Nellis, Paresh Dave and Katie Paul in San Francisco; Sonya Hepinstall Edition