Facebook could be in a ‘stronger position’ after Apple’s privacy update

Facebook postponed Apple’s planned deployment of anti-tracking tools to each possible opportunity, but now the social media giant appears to be change your melody in a last ditch effort to save face. On Thursday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook could be in a “stronger position” after iOS privacy updates and that he was optimistic about how the company will survive the change, according to CNBC and CNET.

“The reality is that I am convinced that we will handle this situation well and that we will be in a good position,” he said Thursday in a room at the Clubhouse according to the outlets.

With Apple’s planned privacy updates for iOS 14, scheduled to roll out sometimes this spring, the company aims to give iOS users more transparency and control over their data by requesting permission before apps can track their activity on other apps and on the web.

Facebook was not too enthusiastic about the idea given that basically 98% of its income stream depends on targeted ads, which are built around monitoring a person’s browsing habits. The company launched a campaign to convince people that personalized ads are good, in fact, which has so far involved removing full page ads in several major newspapers to condemn Apple and run a video ad claiming that Apple’s privacy updates are killing small businesses by not giving Facebook and other apps free rein to suck your data.

(As you might already expect, Facebook’s claims Was found be misleading at best and self-serving propaganda at worst. While advertising might get a bit more difficult for small businesses and developers with Apple’s new updates, Facebook is expected to take the biggest turnover, not the little guys.)

Now, with Apple’s updates on the horizon, Facebook is apparently adopting a new strategy: corncob. A.k.a, continue to embarrass oneself rather than admit to being brutally possessed.

On Thursday, Zuckerberg reiterated his concerns that Apple’s move could still hurt small businesses and developers, but also expressed hope that Facebook could benefit from the situation, CNBC and CNET report.

“We may even be in a stronger position if Apple’s changes encourage more companies to do more business on our platforms by making it harder for them to use their data to find customers. who would like to use their products outside of our platforms, ”he said.

It’s a far cry from the grim image Facebook painted before. In August 2020, the company warned that Apple’s updates could cause a more than 50% decrease in its Audience Network advertising business, which enables mobile software developers to personalize ads based on Facebook data. Facebook CFO David Wehner also expressed concern this could affect the ability of the social network to effectively target advertisements to users.

Apple and Facebook did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment. Apple has has repeatedly defended its planned privacy updates against Facebook’s accusations, arguing that these new features don’t completely remove targeted ads, but rather give users the option to opt out if they choose.