Can Apple be both a privacy hero and an advertising behemoth?
Apple currently shows display ads in the App Store and its News and Stocks apps, but it plans to show ads in first-party apps as well.
Apple Inc. unveiled its latest iPhone in a 90-minute glitzy infomercial focused entirely on hardware. Though the company did not specify what it would do with people’s personal information. It has long been assumed that information on an iPhone is kept private. Its messaging system is encrypted by default, and its digital assistant Siri processes commands on the phone rather than on Apple servers. Apple also allows you to prevent advertisers from tracking you.
However, as the tech titan seeks to increase revenue from advertising. A business that has long relied on data collection and targeting, consumers may require more concrete assurances that the company will not relax its standards for handling personal information.
Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, has called privacy protection “the most important battle of our time. Because of its stance on privacy, the company has positioned itself as a hero among surveillance capitalism’s titans. Including Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google.
However, this makes it challenging to reconcile Apple’s growing foray into advertising with its commitment to protecting private information.
Circumstances most likely forced Apple’s hand. The thriving smartphone market has slowed, and Apple needs to make money in ways other than selling iPhones. To that end, it is working on mixed-reality headsets, an autonomous car and expanding its services, such as Apple TV+ and Apple Music. It has also begun expanding its presence in the ad business, typically associated with social media companies.
Apple currently displays display ads at the top of its App Store and on its News and Stocks apps. But it plans to expand those ads to other App Store pages. Meanwhile, its advertising division is doubling in size and gaining internal clout.
