Blog

Preparing Audience Network for iOS 14

August 26, 2020

Update on December 16, 2020 at 8:00am PST: We’ve shared an update on how we’re addressing iOS 14 changes. Read more here.

For developers and publishers monetizing their apps with Audience Network, as previously stated we will continue to serve ads, however our ability to deliver personalized ads on iOS 14 will be limited. Despite our intention to continue using IDFA, publishers should still expect ad revenue to decline in the near future once Apple’s update is rolled out. We continue to work on various products and methods to help optimize performance such as exclusively using bidding to fill ads in iOS apps beginning Q2 2021. More detailed guidance for Audience Network developers available here.

Update on September 10, 2020 at 1:00pm PST: We, along with the rest of the business community, continue to await final policy details from Apple. Given Apple’s delayed implementation of the user permission requirement, we will continue collecting IDFA on iOS 14 in an attempt to reduce unnecessary disruption to our customers’ businesses.

Today, Meta shared how we’re addressing Apple iOS 14 changes, which includes not collecting the identifier for advertisers (IDFA) on our own apps on iOS 14 devices. This is not a change we want to make, but unfortunately Apple’s updates to iOS14 have forced this decision. We know this may severely impact publishers’ ability to monetize through Audience Network on iOS 14, and, despite our best efforts, may render Audience Network so ineffective on iOS 14 that it may not make sense to offer it on iOS 14 in the future.

For developers and publishers using Audience Network, our ability to deliver targeted ads on iOS 14 will be limited. As a result, some iOS 14 users may not see any ads from Audience Network, while others may still see ads from us, but they'll be less relevant. Because of advertisers’ reduced ability to accurately target and measure their campaigns, app developers and publishers should expect lower CPMs on Audience Network and likely other ad networks on iOS.

While it’s difficult to quantify the impact to publishers and developers at this point with so many unknowns, in testing we’ve seen more than a 50% drop in Audience Network publisher revenue when personalization was removed from mobile app ad install campaigns. In reality, the impact to Audience Network on iOS 14 may be much more, so we are working on short-and long-term strategies to support publishers through these changes.

We understand that iOS 14 will hurt many of our developers and publishers at an already difficult time for businesses. We work with more than 19,000 developers and publishers from around the globe¹ and in 2019 we paid out billions of dollars². Many of these are small businesses that depend on ads to support their livelihood.

We stand in strong support of the developer community and will share updates as we learn more about Apple’s policy and what actions publishers can take. We’ll also release an updated version of the Audience Network SDK to support iOS 14, in line with updates to the Facebook SDK. While the iOS 14 release schedule has not been announced, we plan to release the Audience Network SDK beforehand and will provide an update as soon as these dates are confirmed.

We remain committed to helping the thousands of developers and publishers that rely on ads from Audience Network, and we’re investing time and resources into building monetization products for publishers as well as supporting other platforms outside of iOS 14.

¹Source: Facebook Internal Data, July 1 to July 31, 2020

²Source: Source: Facebook Internal Data, January to December 2019

RELATED RESOURCES

Understanding bidding metrics and optimization

Here, we explain each step behind the technology of in-app bidding with Meta Audience Network and optimization strategies

December 8, 2022

Understanding bidding metrics

Here, we explain each step behind the technology of in-app bidding with Meta Audience Network.

December 8, 2022

How to optimize bidding

In this video, we explore strategies to optimize bidding metrics.

December 8, 2022

To build a great gaming business, unify monetization and acquisition

In this article and podcast, Rob Kiely and Michael Bertaut explore how unifying monetization and acquisition is key to building a great gaming business.

November 24, 2022

FRVR Q&A: Building and monetizing player-friendly games

In this Q&A, FRVR Founder Chris Benjaminsen shares about the developers’ partnership to build and monetize games with Facebook Gaming and Meta Audience Network.

October 13, 2022

Start earning

Monetize your app with Meta Audience Network.

Start earning

Monetize your app with Meta Audience Network.

Sign up for our newsletter.

Stay up-to-date with the latest insights, updates and optimization tips sent to your inbox.

For more information about how Meta handles your data please read our

Data Policy

.

Follow us

Meta Audience Network empowers app developers and publishers to deliver a great user experience while growing a sustainable business. With Facebook demand from millions of diverse global advertisers, publishers can expand their app’s reach, keep users engaged, and monetize globally.