Apple announces the general availability release of iOS 14.5 and its ATT prompt requirement next week. Take steps now to continue advertising without disruption.
Updated on April 26, 2021: On Tuesday, April 27, 2021 Facebook will begin rolling out new ad measurement protocols --Apple’s SKAdNetwork API and Facebook’s Aggregated Event Measurement -- following the release of iOS 14.5. Advertisers and partners will then begin to experience the changes described in this blog post. For the latest update visit the Facebook for Business blog.
On Tuesday, April 20, 2021, Apple confirmed that the release of general availability of iOS 14.5 will begin next week, and that it will start requiring apps in the App Store to obtain permission to “track” users across apps and websites owned by third parties for advertising and measurement purposes through it’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) prompt. Apple’s prompt requirement will also prohibit certain data collection and sharing by businesses unless people opt in. This will create limitations for businesses that use Facebook advertising for mobile apps on iOS devices, as well as those that drive business results through their website.
As part of these changes, we’re implementing new ad measurement protocols, including Apple’s SKAdNetwork API and Facebook’s Aggregated Event Measurement. These protocols aggregate and delay reporting, while continuing to enable the measurement of campaign results (with limitations). Developers can expect changes in Facebook’s Marketing APIs, Insights API, business tool set up, targeting, delivery, measurement and reporting.
As a result, if your Facebook app enables advertisers to run ads on Facebook, your app will need to make Marketing API changes. These changes will affect how advertisers set up and measure their ad campaigns on your app. These API changes include mandatory new API fields, API deprecations, and changed behavior for existing endpoints. Most of these changes were made available for developers to implement as of January 19, 2021. These changes will be required following the expected general availability of iOS 14.5 next week. We will provide an update with a specific date once more details are available from Apple.
To help minimize disruptions to your business and clients, please review our prior announcements below for guidance on how to prepare. We recommend that you take action as soon as possible. Otherwise, some API calls may fail, ads may be paused, or ads may experience reduced delivery once Apple releases general availability of iOS 14.5 next week.
Facebook Changelog & Developer Docs
- Non-Versioned Changes Announced Jan 19, 2021 (full list of API changes)
- Troubleshooting iOS API Error Codes
Blog Announcements: Preparing our Partners for iOS 14
- Changes to Marketing API and Ads Insights API beginning January 19th, and beyond
- Actions for Partners and Mobile Web Advertisers
- Actions for App Advertisers and Developers
In this dynamic time, we expect future changes and new product iterations, and will continue to proactively communicate our guidance and help you navigate these shifts. You can always find updated resources and recommendations here.
