David Wehner, Facebook’s chief financial officer.
Harriet Taylor | CNBC
Facebook’s chief financial officer David Wehner said Thursday that upcoming changes to Apple’s iOS 14 operating system could harm the social network’s ability to target ads to users.
By updating their mobile devices, Apple will ask users if they want to allow app developers to track their activity on other apps and websites. Apple has not said when iOS 14 will launch, but it is expected to launch this year.
“We are still trying to understand what these changes will be like and how they will affect us and the rest of the industry, but at least it will make it more difficult for app developers and others to grow using ads on Facebook and elsewhere.” Wehner said.
Until now, advertisers could Use a device ID number called IDFA to better target your ads and estimate their effectiveness. In iOS 14, each app that wants to use these identifiers will ask users to opt in for tracking when the app is launched for the first time.
The change is expected to start affecting Facebook advertising in the third quarter, but will have a more pronounced effect in the fourth quarter, Wehner said.
The company forecast revenue growth for the third quarter of approximately 10%, exceeding analyst expectations of 7.9% growth.
“Our view is that Facebook and targeted ads are a vital line for small businesses, especially in the Covid era, and we are concerned that aggressive platform policies will shrink along that vital line at a time when it is so essential to small business growth and recovery, “Wehner said.
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