ladies and gentlemen this is the main
event you've all been waiting for the
release of
ios 14.5
in one corner apple ceo tim
cook and the other the facebook ceo mark
zuckerberg
well folks that's gonna leave a mark pun
intended
what we're seeing unfold in this fight
is quite complicated
in fact you're probably thinking what's
this beef all about
apple makes phones tablets laptops and
more
facebook makes social networks why the
slugfest
the simple answer differing views of our
privacy and it's playing out big
time in apple's new ios 14.5
but that's just the first round this is
a fight that could shape the future of
the internet
and certainly the next wave of computing
yeah
it's a lot so i thought it was best to
explain it with the help of
these guys no you cannot buy these
because
they're just terrifying
okay let's explain this all starting
with what brought this to a head
ios 14.5 and a new feature called app
tracking transparency now for years
every iphone has had a secret string of
numbers inside it
it's called the idfa identifier for
advertisers
we'll call it your very own ad tracking
number and it's used to help apps
identify you
and know what you're up to on your phone
so for instance
say mr cook let's call him user 09802
has decided to relax and download a new
meditation app
the app records his number and here's
the thing
the facebook app and other apps on his
phone also have that number
if that same meditation app wants to try
to get mr cook on its
mega super relaxing subscription plan it
can go to facebook and say
hey let me advertise to user 098002
if facebook has that number and there's
a match boom
the personalized ad shows up in mr
cook's facebook feed
there's another way this is all used say
that meditation app shows ads in its
feed
it can use facebook's ad network which
again uses that number to keep track of
your other interests
and feed you highly personalized ads so
you get it these user numbers are good
for facebook and other social networks
that want to know what we're doing on
our phones
and they're good for businesses that
want us to buy stuff but now with ios
14.5
apple turns off that ad tracker by
default
if an app wants to track you using that
number it will have to ask
if mr cook taps ask app not to track
then his meditation app won't get his
number
apple is giving companies a chance to
plead their case with this area right
here
that explains what the company uses the
data for
don't want those pop-ups at all you can
opt out of all tracking by going to
settings
privacy tracking and turning off allow
apps to request
track all in all this is apple's big
play to give people a choice whether
they want to be tracked
and chances are more people are going to
tap ask app not to track
and guess who isn't happy about that all
eminem
the rapper sorry i mean mark zuckerberg
our custom designs were rushed ordered
see facebook's business is built on
personalized advertising
instead of charging you to use facebook
facebook charges companies
to advertise these ads are targeted at
you based on everything facebook knows
about you
here's an ad facebook ran in the wall
street journal at the end of 2020.
we're standing up to apple for small
businesses everywhere
many in the small business community
have shared concerns about apple's
forced software update
which will limit businesses ability to
run personalized ads and reach their
customers effectively
[Music]
facebook cfo dave wayner was clearer
about how it will impact facebook
directly on a january 2021
earnings call we continue to believe
that that will be a headwind
in the ads business we're going to have
to be providing a
prompt asking people for permission to
use
third-party data to deliver personalized
ads and we do
expect there to be high opt-out rates
related to that
the company added that the apple prompt
doesn't give enough context about the
benefits of personalized ads
still while facebook has said recently
that it won't have a big impact to its
own business
facebook seems to be acknowledging that
given the choice users would prefer not
to be
tracked a facebook spokesman said while
apple claims the update is about privacy
it's about forcing small businesses and
developers to charge for apps that were
once free
hurting consumers in the process free
ad-supported services have been
essential to the growth and vitality of
the internet
and we're joining others to point out
apple's hypocrisy and anti-competitive
behavior
an apple spokesperson responded apps and
advertisers can continue to track users
across apps and websites as before
app tracking transparency in ios 14
simply requires that they ask for users
permission before
sharing their data with other companies
supporting small businesses has been at
the heart of the app
store since it was created to help
developers of all sizes
develop test and distribute apps around
the world
the company also says it has introduced
new free tools for advertisers
to measure their campaigns while
respecting user privacy
as a company based on hardware sales and
more recently more subscription services
apple has long stood on the side of user
privacy here's steve jobs in 2010
privacy means people know
what they're signing up for in plain
english
and some people want to share more data
than other people do ask them
ask them every time and cook has taken
over that mantle
and said this in january 2021 if a
business is built on misleading users
on data exploitation on choices that are
no choices at all
then it does not deserve our praise it
deserves
reform at its foundation att
is about returning control to users
about giving them a say over how their
data is handled
[Applause]
but of course there is benefit to
apple's business mr cook and his team
see
privacy and other security features like
encryption
as a selling point of its hardware and
software combo so two men
two very different business models and
two very different visions of how
technology and the internet
should work for us and the future fights
are going to go
way beyond privacy on that same earnings
call from january mark zuckerberg said
i i do want to highlight that we
increasingly see apple
um as one of our biggest competitors he
pointed out products like imessage
competes with facebook's messaging
business which includes whatsapp
instagram and facebook messenger apple
has every incentive to use their
dominant platform position
to interfere with how our apps and other
apps work
which they regularly do to preference
their own
but where is this really heading
literally our heads
the fight for the future of computers
augmented reality glasses
when the tech is ready and these aren't
just big bulky headsets
these glasses will probably run an
operating system made by one of these
companies
and it could be a fight bigger than
android versus ios
or windows vs mac facebook which owns
oculus is investing heavily in the
software and hardware side of glasses
and is planning to release some smart
glasses in the next year
i can't go into full product details yet
but they're going to be the next step on
the road
to augmented reality glasses apple is
working on its own headset
according to various reports and tim
cook has shared his interest in
augmented reality for years now
and i think ar can help amplify the
human connection
i've never been a fan of vr
like that because i think it does the
opposite so you see
this change in ios 14.5 is just the
start of this fight
you know what's not going to be
happening anytime soon
[Music]
as for who ultimately wins there's no
telling but at least with ios 14.5
the winners are users who have wanted
control of their privacy
and data do you guys do anything else
you just go to the gym
all the time tim cook has the same abs
as mark zuckerberg
they're both ripped