Facebook threatens to start charging for apps if people block iPhone tracking

Facebook’s big iPhone nightmare has arrived. iOS 14.5 comes with a privacy feature called App Tracking Transparency (ATT) that forces all developers to ask permission before tracking users across apps and services. Like other social platforms, Facebook has been tracking users online for years without ever asking for consent. But the company’s sustained campaign against Apple in the past few months actually helped promote ATT. Facebook attacked Apple in print campaigns over the app privacy labels that rolled out over the winter, and then the company started a TV ad campaign to criticize ATT. Facebook claimed in those ads that Apple’s privacy protections will hurt small businesses, begging users to allow tracking so it can continue to serve personalized ads.

While criticizing Apple’s privacy features in iOS 14.5, Facebook also said it will comply with the new requirements. Developers have no choice, of course. They have to display the prompt if they intend to track Apple users. The iPhone maker has said more than once that the feature doesn’t block tracking. It just makes it mandatory for all the companies to ask for consent. Also, blocking Facebook and other apps from tracking iPhone and iPad activity might not prevent all tracking. Companies might have other tools in place to fingerprint users without asking for permission first.

Facebook is aware that iOS 14.5 could impact its advertising business and has informed partners of the changes ahead. But the company won't go down without a fight. Before showing Apple’s prompt, Facebook will deliver its own message where it’ll suggest that it might start charging for apps if people block iPhone tracking.