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AdMob Chief Responds to Apple's New Developer Terms for Analytics Data Collection

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Yesterday, we noted that Apple has again revised its developer agreement, and among the changes were adjustments to its rules on analytics data collection. The changes appear to allow applications to send data back to analytics companies to assist in advertising and other efforts, with the limitation that analytics companies receiving data must be "independent" and not owned by or affiliated with a developer of mobile platforms or devices. The limitation would appear to prohibit Google-owned AdMob from participating in analytics data collection on the iPhone.

AdMob founder and CEO Omar Hamoui today responded on the company's blog, acknowledging that the terms as written would prohibit developers from using AdMob and Google advertising products on the iPhone.
This change threatens to decrease - or even eliminate - revenue that helps to support tens of thousands of developers. The terms hurt both large and small developers by severely limiting their choice of how best to make money. And because advertising funds a huge number of free and low cost apps, these terms are bad for consumers as well.

Let's be clear. This change is not in the best interests of users or developers. In the history of technology and innovation, it's clear that competition delivers the best outcome. Artificial barriers to competition hurt users and developers and, in the long run, stall technological progress.
Click to expand...
Hamoui reports that AdMob will be speaking to Apple about its concerns over the impact of the change in terms as the advertising company looks to continue working with developers on a broad variety of platforms.

Article Link: AdMob Chief Responds to Apple's New Developer Terms for Analytics Data Collection
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/06/09/admob-chief-responds-to-apples-new-developer-terms-for-analytics-data-collection/
It doesn't stop competition, just AdMob/Google. If I was at Apple, I wouldn't want Google collecting data on iPhone usage from millions of users a day.
 
Advertising turns people crazy...

... What does he want? the cake and eat it too?

You are COMPETITION... You should be fed to the lions... not get caviar from Apple!
 
Dear AdMob --

Would you want your competitors doing analysis on YOUR company -- collecting information about who your customers were, and what they liked to do?

Because I tell you -- Apple wouldn't mind knowing what sort of deals you were pulling with your advertisers -- heck, maybe they could offer them a better deal, right? Maybe they're better prepared for some aspect or type of advert than you are. And that's certainly better for developers and users, right?
 
This isn't exactly the same, but you wouldn't expect Macy's ads in a Nordstroms, would you?

The difference is, of course, the ads are provided by Apple in an Apple ecosystem. The ads are representing other companies.

I don't understand why there is all this feeling of entitlement to a company's ecosystem?

AdMob can still enjoy success in HTML5 web apps.
 
Aren't Apple's iAd rates higher than AdMob?

I think Apple has framed this in a way that they won't have any problems with regulators, although it also will prevent MS from doing display ads on the iPhone.

But... the web is still the dominant advertising platform for now. Your competitors can get plenty of business intelligence from the user agent string, although not the degree that Flurry was pulling.
 
language is a virus. competition, open, free, these words have lost all original meaning as they've been poked & prodded in to trigger words. they're now used to label yourself or competitors in your market as good or bad. competition is neither inherently good or bad, there are as many examples of competition producing a better overall eco-system as there are producing a race to bottom of cheap crap.
 
competition lowers the prices on a commodities like nickel and coal.
There are other things but I'm not going into all that.
But the competition in the cell phone arena hasn't lowered the price of iphones.
I don't care. I'm getting the iphone 4 anyway. 32 gig. YEAH BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Hmmm... not sure I buy the 'consumers, advertising is great for you' line. We would have tens of thousands of apps even without advertising (and did, before in-app advertising became popular on the platform).

Hell, if developers though they could get away with it, they'd probably go for paid apps, AND subscription-based use, AND in-app advertising.

Advertising doesn't necessarily make free apps possible, it just opens new revenue streams for free and paid apps which might exist anyway without it.
 
Privacy

From my understanding, "analytics data collection" takes information from the users and delivers it to "someone" and then that person sells the data to someone else.

How does removing this hurt the user?

We didn't have "analytics data collection" from apps 5 years ago and we don't need it today.

If it's a battle between privacy and someone making money off my demographic use, I choose privacy.
 
Boo. Frickin'. Hoo.

He's whiny as well as wrong. There will be plenty of competition in advertising on the iPhone/iPad, just not from companies that directly compete with Apple.

And one could say that Apple has just given Google a big jolt of motivation to keep improving Android (because AdMob's revenue will be limited to Android). So Android users should be thanking Apple.
 
The last thing Mr. Hamoui should have done was commented publicly.

As soon as they can't play on their terms on someone Else's platform, they cry. So limit the type of data you collect. Work with Apple to make your case as to what data you need and why... and I bet they may even work with you to get that data but anonymize it.

This is a major problem today in general. If someone can't do their job and do it well they make sure to obfuscate the KPIs, the fingers start pointing and the excuses come out... and they get labeled victim rather than failure so accountability can't be assigned to them.

What ever happened to just doing it better?

As a developer with a choice to make, I am now turned off to the Admob solution.
 
"severely limiting their choice of how best to make money."

Nope. It just means you're not the only choice anymore. In fact, it increases that choice by evening the playing field a bit.

And I agree, multi-million dollar corporations should never whine like little b****s. Adobe, admob... it's pathetic.
 
Missing the point.

The fact is apple is not trying to stop it entirely, they just want you to get permission and they aren't going to let you have data that would give you a one up in a market they are trying to dominate.

In the interview of Jobs at D8 one of his primary frustrations is that the user was never told the data was being harvested. I download and app and instantly some company I didn't know existed knows where I've been, what I download, what I browse to.

If you follow the rule and ask the user permission you might find some people just don't care. I personally wouldn't let you but who know what other would do.
 
CBS, HBO and all other networks also control there own add-network, that's where the money is. There option is to place cheaper adds without analytics.
 
Dear Apple.

In the last few years, you have proven yourself to be a right bunch of arsewipes.

Instead of welcoming competition, and the innovation it brings, you have tried to make everything as awkward as possible for any and all competitors when they have made no such moves against you. You harass anybody who has even remotely similar technology to yours, even if (for the most part) they had it first, like HTC. Rather than allowing people to customise their hardware, you tell them exactly how they should be set up, exactly what software they can and cannot run, and your CEO's outbursts badmouthing other Silicon Valley companies get more and more ridiculous each day. All signs of the real, revolutionary innovation you are capable of have dried up since the original iPhone was released in 2007. More than anything else, I hate the fact that you believe that because you say something, it is gospel.

You may make the best (and certainly amongst the most durable) hardware, and some of the best software on the market. I have been using Apple products since it became unfeasible to keep my Amiga running in the early 90s. I loved my Performa 630, my PowerMac 5400, my PowerBook 1400, my Wallstreet, my iceBook, my iceBook G4, my PowerBook G4 12" (Best machine you ever made?!), my second PowerBook G4 12", my 15" AlBook, my Mac Mini and I still love my MacBook. I love Mac OS. I loved all my iPods I even love iOS once it's jailbroken and I can do what _I_ want with it. However, unless your attitude towards business, fair competition and your customers changes dramatically, I'll be boycotting your products along with Sony's for the foreseeable future. :apple:

Peace. (by the way, if I were Google now, I would be very rapidly revoking Apple's search licensing. Yes, it would cut one of their revenue streams, but two can play at this game, and without Google, Apple would definitely be in the mire. I don't think they appreciate that, but have you tried using Bing?!)
 
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