Media publishers also express concerns about opt-in ad tracking in iOS 14

Several major publishers and advertisers have expressed concerns about an opt-in for ad tracking in iOS 14. After Facebook previously warned about this, other publishers now also think that their revenues will decline.

Weather Co., which runs the popular weather.com, and publishers such as DMG Media and Branch Metrics are worried that the new rules in iOS 14 will cause a drop in revenue, they tell the Wall Street Journal. Publishers expect a drop of up to 40 percent. They point to a new feature in iOS 14, which will be released later this year. In that operating system, users must opt-in to share their Unique ID for Advertisers or IDFA with advertisers. If they don’t, users cannot be tracked through various apps, which usually use that id. The id is used to display personalized advertisements.

Publishers are concerned that the feature will lower revenue because non-personalized ads will yield less. “With every publisher fighting for every ad cent, this couldn’t come at a worse time,” DMG Media’s Martin Clarke told the newspaper. DMG is the publisher of the Daily Mail and MailOnline, among others. Clarke points to a study showing that 85 percent of users do not accept the opt-in when presented with the choice. “It’s outrageous that Apple is placing itself between us and our readers in this way.” Publisher Sheri Bachstein of Weather Co. thinks advertising revenue within iPhone apps could drop by as much as 40 percent.

The publishers reiterate the concerns expressed by Facebook earlier this week. The social network warned on Thursday that publishers could be seriously affected by Apple’s new rules. For the time being, both Facebook and the publishers and developers are not yet asking for measures from Apple, but are only expressing their concerns.