Facebook has slowed revenue growth due to Apple's privacy policy

Facebook has published reports for the third quarter of 2021, noting a significant slowdown in the growth of advertising revenue due to Apple's new privacy policy. In particular, for the period from July to September 2021, revenue increased by only 33% compared to the same period in 2020 – to $28.28 billion. In the second quarter, the increase was 56%, and in the first – 46%.

Facebook has acknowledged that Apple's new policy makes it difficult to target ads and puts a lot of pressure on performance. As you know, advertising is the main source of Facebook's revenue. Earlier, Snap reported on the negative impact of Apple's policy on the results.

Changes to Apple's privacy policy are known as ATT (App Tracking Transparency), that is, the transparency of app tracking. The new feature involves asking users in a pop-up window if they want to be tracked. 

If the user refuses, this reduces the amount of data that advertising sellers receive, which leads to a decrease in the effectiveness of advertising campaigns and a drop in brand sales. According to analysts, consent to tracking is given only in 16% of cases.