IP address is a tell for several things, namely a user’s location – and it can be used to triangulate identity via fingerprinting.
But soon that will no longer be the case, at least not in Apple’s ecosystem.
Apple raised the privacy bar at its Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday, and IP address was in the crosshairs. Starting later this year, Apple said it plans to nix pixels in its Mail app and block IP addresses in Safari. Apple also introduced a VPN-like feature that makes it impossible for Apple – and ISPs and advertisers – to see browser behavior.
Plus, “burner emails” will make it easy to create throwaway email addresses that could foil universal email-based IDs.
Taken collectively with Apple’s many other privacy features, these moves will make data-driven advertising even more difficult. But how, exactly? And at what cost to advertisers and rival platforms?
In this week’s episode of The Big Story, we discuss how Apple’s privacy plans affect the rest of ad tech. Spoiler: These changes add more fuel to the feud between Apple and Facebook. They also call into question the future of precise geotargeting and identification via fingerprinting – so listen in to understand the implications for ad tech.
