Apple might delay iOS change vexing mobile ad market: Report

Apple Inc plans to delay updates to its next mobile operating system that could change how ads are targeted on iPhones and iPads, technology news website The Information reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Apple announced new privacy rules in June that were slated to take effect with the launch of its iOS 14 operating system this fall. Among them is a new requirement that advertisers who employ an Apple-provided tracking identifier must now show a pop-up notification saying the app “would like permission to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies.”

Digital advertising firms expect most users will decline to grant that permission. Facebook Inc said last week that the changes would render one of its mobile advertising tools "so ineffective on iOS 14 that it may not make sense to offer it on iOS 14."

Advertisers are instead gearing up to use a new advertising system that Apple has created and claims is more private because it does not provide detailed information about individual users. Advertisers have said that system is likely to generate less revenue.