DIGITAL ADVERTISING

Facebook’s advertising revenue hit by Apple’s new privacy rules

By our News Team | 2021

Earlier this year Apple started requiring apps to ask users whether they want to be tracked – and Facebook’s profit has suffered as a result.

Social media giant Facebook is blaming Apple’s new privacy rules for its slowing sales growth and believes there is uncertainty ahead for the company’s lucrative advertising sales operation.

Facebook made the announcement during its latest quarterly financial update on Monday (25 October), the New York-based Wall Street Journal is reporting.

“Facebook’s ad sales, its primary revenue source, saw slower growth in the first full quarter since Apple in April started requiring apps to ask users whether they want to be tracked,” the Journal said.

“That change has made it harder for advertisers to target their ads at audiences and get information regarding how well their ads performed.”

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

The social media company has been warning for some time that Apple’s privacy changes to its iOS operating system would hamper its ad-targeting capabilities as more people update their iPhones and iPads.

Chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, told analysts that sales would have grown in the third quarter had it not been for the Apple privacy changes. “We and our advertisers will continue to feel the effect of these changes in future quarters,” she said.

Sandberg added that online commerce was not growing at the pace it did during the height of the pandemic and that the global supply-chain crunch was also weighing on ad sales. Renewed Covid-19 outbreaks in Southeast Asia, she said, slowed economic activity still further.

Facebook’s third-quarter profit rose 17% to $9.19-billion. The company said it had 3.58-billion monthly users across Facebook, Instagram and its other services, a figure which has increased by 12% from a year earlier.

Sources: Facebook, Wall Street Journal, Ad Age

Pre-conference masterclass discusses taking African brands to the world

Participants challenged to identify, articulate and commercialise the cultural assets that make their brand ready for a global audience.

Three people stand side by side in front of a sports direct backdrop the woman in the middle holds a blue and orange 'sports direct' sign

Africa’s first Sports Direct retail store opens its doors in Nairobi

Second outlet planned for Nairobi before year end, with Nigeria, South Africa and Morocco said to be future target markets.

Person wearing a beige sweater holds a phone with a translucent search bar reading 'search' and microphonecamera icons in the foreground

Search is fragmenting – credibility and trust create the new visibility

Online search behaviour has changed significantly with the rise of AI. How can African brands adapt to this new marketing landscape?

Person shopping at a deli counter holding an orange shopping basket in a cheese section of a supermarket

The move toward future-ready food packaging where materials meet AI

Researchers propose a framework for packaging that senses, learns and acts – making packaging an active, AI-powered tool against food waste.

Conference stage with a woman in a patterned dress speaking to an audience large screens display '' logos and banners for a marketers conference with 'institute of marketing in malawi' branding on stage panels and backdrop

Malawi’s marketers urged to put trust at the heart of the profession

Country needs marketers to build recognition and consumer trust around Malawian products and national brand, says Deputy Minister.

Lingerie brand creates street-stopping advertising in Manhattan

Fashion brand suspends giant lingerie high above the city’s streets, using shadows to create a moving billboard for pedestrians and motorists.

We know AI influencers aren’t real – so why do we trust them?

Researchers describe AI influencers as having a ‘dual identity’. Consumers evaluate both ‘person’ and ‘technology’ identities at once.

Hotel receptionist assisting a guest at the check in counter with a gray suitcase nearby behind the desk

Why trust has become a critical asset for hotel industry marketers

Reputation and trust, once modest influences on hotel choice, have become some of the strongest predictors of patronage, study finds.

Three people in formal attire pose for a photo at an awards event a woman in a pink dress holds a trophy while two men in suits stand beside her against a gold confetti backdrop

FNB bank’s eBucks programme dominates the 2026 SA loyalty awards

South African brands are increasingly setting the global benchmark for customer loyalty strategies, organisers say.

Portrait of a man with short black hair and a beard wearing a black button down shirt against a light gray background

Zambia’s strongest creative ideas are emerging from local truths

Global influences among younger consumers are still present, but they are being filtered through a distinctly Zambian lens.

Yellow humanoid robot at a bakery counter inspecting a display of donuts on display in front of glass cases

Consumers have doubts about products when they’re designed by AI

Researchers find that lack of perceived ‘genuine care’ is the mechanism connecting AI involvement to lower trust ratings.