Issue 24

Comment

One way or another, it's pretty clear that the IDFA Apocalypse is finally coming to a head.

Apple has (of course) confirmed nothing, but even the mainstream media now expects the imminent release of iOS 14.5, including the AppTrackingTransparency changes we've all been awaiting. Most bets seem to be that the rollout will be somehow connected to Apple's “Spring Loaded” event next Tuesday (April 20).

Are we all ready for the excitement to begin?

PS, if you're looking for a final check of your overall awareness on SKAdNetwork, ATT, and everything in between, try this quick iOS 14 knowledge quiz our team at Branch put together last week!

Spotlight

ATT opt-in rates are much higher than anticipated

With AppTrackingTransparency enforcement just around the corner, the next big question is “when users see the modal, how many of them will actually opt in?”

AppsFlyer has some preliminary data, and it suggests these rates may be higher than many have expected.

ATT opt-in rates are irrelevant

…but following on from AppsFlyer's study, it's worth noting that these opt-in numbers blow past any other estimates or public data sources (user surveys, opt-in tests, etc.) I've seen.

Also, as Eric Seufert notes here, there are some good reasons to question whether an early study like this is in fact representative of what will happen longer-term. And most importantly of all, ATT opt-in is (unfortunately) useless if it's only one-sided, which is what AppsFlyer's numbers reflect. You need opt-ins on BOTH sides to actually do anything with the data.

Interesting Reads

Emoji under the hood

Most of us probably use emoji all over the place, without a second thought. But there's actually a lot more going on behind the scenes.

This article is a really neat look into all the machinery involved in making these little pictures show up, and some of the (honestly mind-blowing) logic involved in creating different variations of each.

Industry Buzz

Apple Is Rejecting Apps That Use Third-Party Code For Alleged Privacy Infractions

Many of us got a jolt of excitement a few weeks ago, when a number of developers suddenly started experiencing App Store rejections from Apple with explanations that seemed suspiciously ATT-like.

Now that the dust has settled, it's not really clear if this was in fact some pre-emptive ATT enforcement, or just unrelated cleanup of practices that Apple considered egregious even under their prior precedents.

TikTok Previews Coming Ad and Product Display Options

TikTok is planning some new ad options.

Most of these seem moves toward pulling ecommerce transactions closer to the TikTok app itself, rather than sending users elsewhere to convert. This makes sense for two reasons:

The Chinese version of TikTok (Douyin) already generates the majority of its income from in-app commerce, as opposed to ads.
With Apple's ATT policy about to decimate the effectiveness of install ad campaigns, bringing more of the buyer journey in-house is an obvious bet that other platforms like Facebook are also making.

Patrick McGee on Twitter: "Overnight both @Apple and @EpicGames released hundreds of pages of new documents, containing lots of colour based on discovery and recent depositions. I stayed up reading so you don't have to."

The Apple v Epic lawsuit is ongoing (recap: Fortnite tried to enable in-app purchases without going through the App Store framework, and got kicked off the platform by Apple in response), and it's bringing to light some very interesting details.

This thread is FULL of fascinating scoops, but the clear theme is that Epic wants to demonstrate that the App Store's benefits aren't worth Apple's 30% commission.

Walled Gardens

The End of AMP

In May of this year, Google's AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) will finally be stripped of its long-standing unfair advantage: automatic preferred ranking in search results.

Going forward, any site that delivers a “great page experience“ on mobile will be boosted...which is how it should have been all along.

Privacy & Security

Going Behind The Scenes On CAID, The Chinese IDFA Workaround Causing Such A Headache For Apple

Remember the brouhaha about China Advertising ID (CAID) from the previous newsletter issue? In this guest piece for AdExchanger, I covered how CAID works, why it is different from typical mobile attribution techniques, and how Apple might decide to address the situation.

Tools

The Toolstack for Mobile Apps Builders

Over the years, there have been a variety of “Lumascapes for the mobile app stack” floating around.

There are a few niche use cases missing from this one, but it's a pretty good, updated take on the core sections of the current vendor landscape.

UX

The Current State of Mobile UX (18 Common Pitfalls)

While this study is exclusively based on mobile web experiences, it's a very in-depth and engaging report, with a wealth of visual examples (of both “good” and “bad” for each area), and a number of the insights also apply to apps.

Podcast

Head of Digital Marketing Europe @ Banco Santander: Frank Hulsebosch

Mobile Banking Trends, Cross-Industry Wisdom & Doing More

Frank Hulsebosch is the Head of Digital Marketing Europe at Banco Santander, where he was responsible for driving for Banco Santander’s Benelux region’s digital transformation, launching a new mobile home banking app, new digital onboarding journeys, and CRO programs to optimize online channels.

Frank provides career advice for aspiring growth leaders: “do more.” Frank found himself completing his assigned tasks during his first internship and then always searching for more work to do. This approach significantly increased his rate of learning over that of his peers, accelerating his career.

Hear more career advice along with why you should never give up when starting something new, the reason why other people don’t want you to succeed, the impact of COVID-19 on the mobile banking industry, and more on this episode of How I Grew This.

Issue 24 April 17th 2021