Privacy is a good thing.

The whole advertising world is bracing for the aftermath of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT). Turned on as part of the release of iOS 14.5 on Monday 26 April 2021, ATT is a new feature of Apple’s OS that requires applications to ask permission if they want to track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites. Your Apple devices have a unique number called an “advertising identifier” to identify your device for ad targeting and tracking.

Together with Intelligent Tracking Prevention and cross-site tracking prevention, Apple has essentially put the use of massive personal data on notice and putting the power of data back into the hands of the user.

As an agency in marketing, we work with various platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Google, and others, to run targeted advertising on behalf of clients. We have a stake in this.

However, we believe that privacy is a good thing.

Sure, we can no longer depend on highly personal advertising based on massive personal data. But we also see a growing unease by consumers towards having their lives tracked and captured by big data.

For too long, we treated these personalised targeting like magic beans sprouting up beanstalks. The industry will have to return its focus to marketing fundamentals. 

That means we will now have to earn our audience’s trust, not buy them.