Apple Digital Ads Gain on Facebook and Google

As Apple gets set to unveil its latest iPhones today, a new report shows it is gaining on digital ad rivals Facebook and Google.

According to a report by InMobi’s Appsumer, Apple’s ad business has thrived after the company’s controversial iOS privacy update last year undercut the user tracking efforts of app developers. The update asks iPhone users for permission to share their data across apps and also offers the option to opt out of being tracked. 

The update, called App Tracking Transparency, significantly impacted the ad models of many ad-dependent companies including Facebook and Snap. Facebook’s ad adoption rate fell three percentage points to 82.3%. Google’s rate declined two points to 94.8%. Apple’s ad business grew its adoption rate to 94.8% from a year ago. 

Facebook parent Meta (META) shares are down about 52% this year, while Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) shares fell about 25%. Snap (SNAP) shares are down about 75% this year. Apple (AAPL) shares are just about 14% lower.