Apple Plans to Expand Ad Visibility in App Store

[MacRumors]

Apple is planning to boost its advertising business through a new ad slot on the App Store search page which will allow developers to promote their apps across the entire platform, rather than just when users search for a specific app, according to a new report from the Financial Times.

Apple already boasts an App Store advertising business where it allows developers to pay for the top result spot when users search for a specific app on the platform. Apple says these ads are "an efficient and easy way to help people discover your app at the top of App Store search results," and now the company wants to expand on it.

According to the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter, the company plans to roll out a second ad slot within the App Store, but this time directly within the Search page, by the end of the month. The new ads will appear alongside the current "Suggested" section on the page and will be visible to users across the whole platform.

The report lacks specific details on the mechanism behind the new ad slot. For example, Apple's current search ads include careful features that ensure smaller developers can bid and pay for ads and not get dominated by large developers and corporations. The new ad slot comes as the advertising industry is bracing for impact from the fallout of the upcoming iOS and iPadOS 14.5 update.

Beginning with the new update rolling out to users next week, apps will be required to ask for users' permission to access their IDFA or identifier for advertisers. By accessing the IDFA, developers can track a user's activity across other apps and websites, even those owned by different companies, to provide personalized ads to users.

The new requirement, called App Tracking Transparency, has received heavy criticism from companies such as Facebook, who are concerned that the new requirement will result in a majority of users opting out of ad tracking. A large portion of Facebook's business comes from selling ads across its platform, and ATT could cut into its revenue by making it harder to provide personalized, relevant ads to users.

Article Link: Apple Plans to Expand Ad Visibility in App Store

 

[Jony Ive and Co.]

Apple should never even have ads in the app store in the first place.
I buy iOS because of the clean, ad-free experience. Otherwise, iOS would just be like Samsung's OS, littered with intrusive ads and a pain to use.

 

[User 6502]

I do not like this at all. I hope they will let the user disable it, but I bet they won’t. Considering the App Store is the only way of getting new apps I find this a highly immoral and manipulative way of shoving ads through our throats.

 

[Dandoodle]

Rubbish. If we’re paying for Apple one, the whole apple ecosystem should be ad free. Personally I think ads are the next scourge Apple should be looking at after privacy!

 

[SBlue1]

I don’t mind ads as long there is no tracking.

 

[sinoka56]

This is the same as Google "selling your data" to advertisers for those that say Google is selling your data.

"Selling your data" means targeted ads not directly giving your data to advertisers.

 

[contacos]

This is the same as Google "selling your data" to advertisers for those that say Google is selling your data.

"Selling your data" means targeted ads not directly giving your data to advertisers.

Exactly and Apple already does it today. I can already target App Store Ads by "gender, age, country, device, device language, REGION, returning users" etc.

 

[Koni17]

More advertising is exactly what most Apple users don't want. I really hope this doesn't become core to their business model.

 

[SWAON]

New Apple slogan should be "We care about your Ad-free experience" along with Privacy.

 

[cardfan]

Yep. Apple cares about privacy because they want your info all to themselves. Never forget apple sees you as one click away from buying from them. And only them if they can help it. You are the product.

It’s hilarious. People rail about Facebook and how apple is looking out for them. And then apple turns around and does the same to you. We care about your privacy says apple. Oh here’s an ad to watch some garbage on atv+.

 

[PersistenceController]

This is because Spotify and Epic Games attacked the App Store.

 

[Orson Farris]

As a relative Apple newbie, I was shocked at the ads in the AppStore. I had the feeling I was still on Android. It really had/has me thinking of why bother to switch to Apple?

 

[SBlue1]

As a relative Apple newbie, I was shocked at the ads in the AppStore. I had the feeling I was still on Android. It really had/has me thinking of why bother to switch to Apple?

Because you are not tracked?

 

[SBlue1]

This is the same as Google "selling your data" to advertisers for those that say Google is selling your data.

"Selling your data" means targeted ads not directly giving your data to advertisers.

There is a difference between targeted ads and tracking across all the web and making a profile of you on all the data mining companies.

 

[Td1970]

Exactly and Apple already does it today. I can already target App Store Ads by "gender, age, country, device, device language, REGION, returning users" etc.

Shhh. people here think Apple doesn’t collect data.

 

[Td1970]

There is a difference between targeted ads and tracking across all the web and making a profile of you on all the data mining companies.

Not really. Sorry. Apple is collecting data on you at using it for ads.

 

[DinkThifferent]

You see advertisements in physical stores and online webshops too, so why not in an App Store? As long as Apple keeps the ads only in the AppStore and don't expand them to other build-in apps I really don't mind.

How many times a day do you use the App Store?

 

[1258186]

Apple uses demographics data from a user’s Apple ID (including user age, their interests, what apps have been downloaded from the App Store before, and more) to enable App Store Search Ads targeting. This targeting is enabled by default which seems rather hypocritical.

 

[randolorian]

I really hate this. It’s only a nuisance, and it helps users in no way, in my opinion. Maybe they should include the benefit of no ads for subscribers of Apple One.

 

[andrewxgx]

Apple should never even have ads in the app store in the first place.
I buy iOS because of the clean, ad-free experience. Otherwise, iOS would just be like Samsung's OS, littered with intrusive ads and a pain to use.

So they have like 30-40% profit margins on iPhones, then they grab 15-30% of app sales, and thats not enough? I mean, if i spend one grand on goddamn phone, i kinda expect it not to try to dump ads on me.

 

[qoop]

Best news I've heard in at least 12 years.

 

[groundedUX]

So far, as I read this, there are 14 comments against ads out of 20 comments. For quick research that’s pretty significant quantity against.

 

[Yammabot]

There should never be any ads or ways to pay to be placed ahead of anyone else in the App Store! Apple has gone to the dark side. Why can’t we just stop all the ads? It’s getting to the point where ads are so prolific you have to ignore everything and not buy anything.

 

[Canyonero]

Don’t like this at all. Ads are not indicative of good/interesting/original apps, only of who has enough money to throw around. I feel like if we pay for iCloud and/or any other Apple service we should have the ability to hide these.

 

[neuropsychguy]

So far, as I read this, there are 14 comments against ads out of 20 comments. For quick research that’s pretty significant quantity against.

It’s because few people commenting are developers. Developers want the ads so they can market their apps.
Remember, MacRumors commenters are an extremely biased sample of Apple users. They are not representative of Apple users.
/Am not a developer.