Flurry analysis: just 4% of iPhone users in the US and 12% worldwide have so far actively chosen to opt into app tracking after the rollout of iOS 14.5

An early look at an ongoing analysis of Apple's App Tracking Transparency suggests that the vast majority of iPhone users …

MacRumors 2021-05-08 Tim Hardwick

Context & Ripple Effects

Apple had already begun rolling out the tracking-permission prompt and positioned ATT as enabled by default. The early opt-in rates show that the prompt is functioning as a broad restriction on access to user-level tracking data, not a marginal preference setting.

Apple also introduced privacy-preserving ad measurement tools ahead of ATT’s full rollout, signaling that advertisers would need replacement measurement methods rather than continued reliance on cross-app identifiers.

First-order effects

Advertisers and apps seeking permission to track iPhone users immediately face a much smaller pool of addressable, user-level data in the US than under an opt-out model.
Apple’s ATT framework becomes the gatekeeper for tracking consent, while its alternative measurement technologies become more relevant to campaigns that cannot obtain permission.

Second-order effects

Facebook advertisers subsequently report weaker tracking campaigns and new-customer targeting, as reflected in advertiser-reported impacts from low iOS opt-in; ad buyers must shift budget and optimization toward less user-specific signals.
App publishers have greater incentive to redesign consent flows and measurement practices, while advertisers place more value on aggregate attribution that works without tracking permission.

Third-order effects

If low consent rates persist, mobile advertising shifts from cross-app, identifier-based targeting toward platform-controlled and privacy-preserving measurement, reducing the practical reach of third-party tracking.
The later finding that some apps sent identifying information after opt-out suggests enforcement and scrutiny will increasingly matter alongside consent prompts; a privacy label alone does not settle data-flow behavior.

The trend: Mobile ad measurement is being rebuilt around explicit consent and aggregate signals as platform privacy controls limit third-party identifiers.

Discussion

@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
this creep was Facebook until Apple kneecapped them last week. 96% opt-out rate so far. 🙏🏽 https://twitter.com/...
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
Apple's ‘relevant ads’ team explaining why tracking what you do on the phone to show you ads is not tracking. https://twitter.com/...
@kennwhite Kenn White on x
The IAB must be losing its mind. This does not displease me. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@thomasareed Thomas Reed on x
Advertisers need to sit up and take notice. This is a sign that they're doing it wrong, and need to find new methods. https://arstechnica.com/...
@benlovejoy @benlovejoy on x
I'm sticking to my app-by-app approach ... https://twitter.com/...
@jenn_pastrak @jenn_pastrak on x
I don't have Facebook on my phone but I was so happy to block Instagram from tracking me today after I updated my iPhone 😁. https://twitter.com/...
@jonyiveparody @jonyiveparody on x
4% of you are crazy. https://twitter.com/...
@peterpham Peter Pham on x
watch the earnings calls of every company that relied on paid acquisition on mobile.. it's gonna tank https://twitter.com/...
@eric_seufert Eric Seufert on x
Given the news / rumors / whispers about Apple staffing up its ads team, it seems very apparent that is resourcing a scaleable business that it believes will deliver meaningful revenues. ATT was never *really* about privacy https://mobiledevmemo.com/...
@eric_seufert Eric Seufert on x
@benedictevans (FTFY) Apple's ‘relevant ads’ team explaining why tracking what you do on the phone to show you ads is not tracking. https://twitter.com/...
@rustybrick Barry Schwartz on x
How can this not impact Facebook and Google ads? https://twitter.com/...
@grogsgamut Greg Jericho on x
And that 4% probably are allowing it by mistake https://twitter.com/...
@jason @jason on x
FB losing the ability to precisely target the most valuable customers in the world—iPhone users—is a significant development. Combine that with anti-trust and privacy regulation and it's gonna be a really brutal decade for Zuck https://twitter.com/...
@berkun Scott Berkun on x
I'm guessing the other 4% pressed allow by accident? https://arstechnica.com/...
@mashable @mashable on x
Exactly what Zuck was afraid of. https://mashable.com/...
@yangcliu Yang on x
Opt out ratio high. Game companies with large loyal following and community (non reliant on UA) will have a huge advantage, such as supercell, in this new era https://www.macrumors.com/...
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
For those who understand the power of defaults, Flurry also includes data on the % of users who take the time to go into their settings and turn off tracking so that apps can't ask for permission - a tiny 2%. Here is their report: https://t.co/ZsRIlKs7bd
@tanyadua Tanya Dua on x
Apple's App Tracking Transparency privacy changes rolled out almost two weeks ago, and it's been utter chaos for advertisers with low opt-in rates and falling ad prices, from @larakiara and me on @BusinessInsider https://www.businessinsider.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@rakeshlobster Rakesh Agrawal on x
This number seems shockingly low. Also: I wonder how it would do if you flip the order of the options. i.e.g are people conditioned to pick the last thing? https://appleinsider.com/...
@mayakaczorowski Maya Kaczorowski on x
why do 4% of you love pain https://www.macrumors.com/...
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
500 seconds of absolute must-see (and please share) as Trevor Noah absolutely nails the nuance for the average viewer in calling out Facebook's empty arguments and making the critical distinction between tracking (problem) and targeting (mostly fine). https://twitter.com/...
@flyosity Mike Rundle on x
lol facebook https://twitter.com/...
@julespolonetsky Jules Polonetsky on x
IDFA opt-in rates worldwide running low. https://www.macrumors.com/...
@chronotope Aram Zucker-Scharff on x
It sure looks like the whole “but actually users want tracking for personalized ads” line is getting throughly disproven https://twitter.com/...
@robinberjon Robin Berjon on x
“Just 4% of iPhone users in the U.S. have actively chosen to opt into app tracking (...) based on a sampling of 2.5 million daily mobile active users.” This is what “transparency & choice” looks like when it's designed to actually work. https://www.macrumors.com/...
@robinberjon Robin Berjon on x
One thing that's particularly interesting here is that it provides a statistical baseline: if you are getting opt-ins significantly higher than this, you're probably using a dark pattern. https://twitter.com/...
@leshann Shann Biglione on x
I'd like to joke the 4% are those working in advertising, but most of us don't like the taste of our own medicine. https://appleinsider.com/...
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
96% of U.S. users & 89% of worldwide users have asked apps not to track them according to Flurry. Apple's currently not enforcing its policy to confirm apps are actually honoring user requests despite announcing it would yesterday. People are being misled https://www.imore.com/..…
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
4% of U.S. users & 11% of worldwide users have asked apps not to track them according to Flurry. Apple is currently not enforcing its policy to confirm apps are actually honoring user requests despite announcing it would yesterday. People are being misled https://www.imore.com/..…
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
It's also worth noting that Apple defines tracking in their developer policies as advertising related. So it's OK for a developer like Audacity to share your data with Flurry or Google Analytics. It's only tracking if Flurry or Google use it to target ads. https://github.com/...
@bruceqburke Bruce Burke on x
Apple's focus on privacy has paid off in a big way. 🙌 In new report from app analytics firm @FlurryMobile⁩, only 4% of iPhone users in the United States have opted into app tracking since @Apple released App Tracking Transparency as part of iOS 14.5. https://www.imore.com/...
@alexeheath Alex Heath on x
research suggesting roughly 13% of people are opting into ad tracking with latest Apple iOS update https://www.flurry.com/...

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