Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told CNBC on Friday that while Apple’s upcoming iPhone privacy changes will certainly be disturbing to advertising, it will ultimately be the right choice for its consumers.
“We feel we are well prepared for these changes and frankly because these changes are in line with our privacy philosophy, we have never allowed device-specific targeting, for example, and we have always taken a very protective stance when it comes to the data from our users, “Spiegel said in a” Squawk Alley “interview.” We generally see this as a good thing for consumers, even if it is a bit disruptive to advertisers in the short term. “
To target mobile ads and measure their effectiveness, app developers and other industry players currently often use Apple’s Advertiser ID (IDFA), a unique string of letters and numbers on each Apple device. But once a privacy update comes out, app makers will be forced to ask for permission to access a user’s IDFA via a prompt. A significant proportion of users are expected to say no, which is expected to make targeted ads less effective.
Spiegel’s more casual nod to the impending change is a completely different response from his Facebook colleague Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook also has a huge online advertising business, which derives almost all of its revenue from advertising.
Facebook has repeatedly complained to Apple about the planned change since it was announced in June, claiming it will harm small businesses.
“Apple may say they are doing this to help people, but the actions are clearly following the interests of their competitors,” Zuckerberg said during Facebook’s earnings call last week. “We and others will be dealing with this in the near future.”
That’s not to say Snap isn’t concerned at all. The company warned investors in its Q4 earnings report on Thursday that Apple’s changes would pose a risk of disruption in demand after they are implemented.
“The reason we’re highlighting some of the policy changes Apple is making is that they will impact our ability to effectively measure and optimize ads outside of Snapchat,” Spiegel said.
Snap said it has partnered with Apple to prepare for the changes and plans to provide advertisers with more options to deliver their products and services directly to Snap users through Snapchat.
“The reality is that we admire Apple, and we believe they are trying to do the right thing for their customers,” said Jeremi Gorman, Snap’s chief business officer. “Their focus on protecting privacy is in line with our values and the way we have built our business from the very beginning. Overall, we feel well prepared for these changes, but changes in this ecosystem are usually disruptive and the outcome is uncertain. “
– CNBC’s Megan Graham contributed to this report.
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