Apple defends iOS privacy changes against Facebook's accusations

Facebook has taken out full-page ads in the US press claiming opt-in permissions will hurt small businesses

Apple announced in June that it plans to update its iOS privacy settings to require users to give explicit permissions for apps to collect data about them. The company has now defended the move, saying it is "standing up" for the people who use its devices.

"Users should know when their data is being collected and shared across other apps and websites — and they should have the choice to allow that or not," an Apple spokeswoman told The Verge in a statement.

Apple said its App Tracking Transparency feature in iOS 14 won't prohibit firms like Facebook from targeted advertising data, but will require them to disclose the intention to users and to seek opt-in permission to do so.

On Wednesday Facebook placed full-page ads in several US newspapers, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, criticising the iPhone maker for the decision.

"We're standing up to Apple for small businesses everywhere," read the headline of Facebook's ad.

Facebook argues that Apple's new privacy changes will be devastating to small businesses that rely on targeted ads. The social media giant says the changes will curb the ability of businesses to reach their customers effectively.

"Without personalised ads, Facebook data shows that the average small business advertiser stands to see a cut of over 60 per cent in their sales for every dollar they spend," the social media company said.

Facebook had previously told investors that the changes will lead to significant headwinds as majority of its advertisers are small firms.

In a conference call on Wednesday, Dan Levy, head of Facebook's small business programme, said that Apple upcoming privacy rules are "about profit, not privacy". Levy also accused Apple of behaving anti-competitively by using its App Store in a way that benefits its bottom line at the expense of small businesses and developers.

However, Levy reassured investors that the company will not be severely affected by Apple's move.

"We will be fine," Levy said.

Apple is expected to update its privacy settings sometime early next year. The change was originally supposed to take effect with the release of iOS 14 this autumn, but the company decided to delay the changes for a few more months for unspecified reasons.