Impacts of iOS 14.5 to Facebook Tracking

Introduction

On the 26th of April, Apple released iOS 14.5 with major changes to app's and ad network's ability to measure ad performance / conversion, as well as deliver targeted ads.

Prior to iOS 14.5, apps and ad networks relied on the IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers), which is a unique device identifier defined by iOS, which allowed for users to be tracked across different apps & sites on the same device. This enabled ad networks, like Facebook, to understand when a user that was shown a certain ad (for example an app install campaign), ended up downloading the app and performing conversions (for example, a purchase).
This data was used to give advertisers visibility into the performance of their ad campaigns, power Facebook's ad serving algorithms to optimize results and enable advertisers to create audiences to re-target users on Facebook properties.

With iOS 14.5, apps are no longer able to access the IDFA unless they get explicit consent from the user, which is done through a system dialog. The dialog heavily discourages users to give consent and Apple also offers users an option to never have the dialog shown through iOS settings. In line with industry recommendations & best practices, we've decided not to implement the consent dialog, as it will lead to a bad user experience and will yield no results (users will not consent to tracking). Apple themselves recommend that users completely turn off tracking in the iOS settings, to prevent the dialog from showing.

SKAdNetwork

Apple has released an alternative to IDFA tracking called SKAdNetwork. SKAdNetwork aims to partly preserve advertiser's ability to measure the performance of their ad campaigns by providing aggregated conversion data to ad networks, but prevent ad networks from understanding specifically which user took an action, so they are not able to re-target them.

Facebook has released support for SKAdNetwork in their newer SDK versions, which has been integrated in v3.13 of PAR Ordering's Mobile app, available from 29.04.21.

Impacts to Facebook Ads

• Separate app install campaigns need to be created to target iOS 14 users
• An app can only be connected to a single ad account
• No more than 9 iOS 14 campaigns can be running at the same time
• Facebook ad reporting may be delayed for up to 3 days
• Use of Facebook optimization algorithms / strategies is restricted for iOS 14 campaigns
• Creation of Facebook Audiences is restricted for iOS 14.5+ users
• Demographic reporting for iOS 14 campaigns is not available
• For measuring performance through conversion events, a maximum of 63 events can be chosen and need to be specifically set up within the Facebook Events Manager (see below)
• Only a single conversion event is reported within a conversion window, based on the priorities defined in the Facebook Events Manager
  
  

Setting up SKAdNetwork in Events Manager

To measure conversions (besides app install) using app events, the events need to be set up for SKAdNetwork in Facebook's Event Manager. You can find instructions on how to do this here: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/670955636925518

In case you are using Branch as an attribution partner, follow their steps to set up SKAdNetwork: https://help.branch.io/using-branch/docs/branchskadnetwork-integration-instructions

Additional Resources

• How the Apple iOS 14 Release May Affect Your Ads and Reporting: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/331612538028890?id=428636648170202
• Facebook SDK for iOS, App Events API and Mobile Measurement Partners Updates for Apple's iOS 14 Requirements: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/2750680505215705?id=428636648170202
• About Configuring Apple’s SKAdNetwork in Facebook Events Manager: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/188126096313109
• Configure Apple’s SKAdNetwork in Facebook Events Manager: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/670955636925518
  
• About Event Priority: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/193250612476055