Apple, you either love it or hate it. Those who love it, swear by it and are willing to wait in line in the blistering cold. Those who don’t, continue to find reasons to dislike it. However, with the new IOS 15.1 update the list of people who love Apple are continuously getting bigger due to their new privacy protocols. Marketing agencies in NC and all advertising and marketing agencies around the world are now finding themselves having to change their tried and true methods to continue seeing their digital advertising results. At Red Shark Digital, we stay on top of the latest trends, IOS and privacy updates to ensure our paid advertising campaigns are equipped to target our client's ideal customer.

What the IOS 15.1 Update Entails

In the latest IOS 15 update, Apple showcased the new privacy features for its users. These features include changes for Apple Mail, Safari, and more. However, it has caused some issues outside of wondering how long does the IOS 15.1 update take? Generally updating a new iOS version is need about 30 minutes, but the specific time is according to your internet speed and device storage.

In the Apple "Mail" App:

Apple's IOS 15 Update includes features protection in their Apple mail app. This privacy protection stops senders from using invisible pixels to collect information about the user. It also includes a feature that blocks the ability to see when the user opens an email. This is done by automatically loading images & CSS to make it look like it has been opened. While this is great for the app's user it does cause issues for marketers. The inflated open rates for emails and masks on IP Addresses remove the ability to see the users' online activity or determine the location for targeting.

In "Safari"

IOS 15 also includes privacy features focused on Apple's name-brand browser: Safari. Apple has had protection against unwanted tracking for years (Since the iPhone 8 and IOS 11), through the use of a device machine that learns to stop trackers. However with the new IOS 15.1 update it also now hides the IP Address as well. This means that marketing agencies in NC will have to rework their marketing plans to find out this information as they cannot use IP Addresses as a unique identifier to build profiles about users.

Other Features of the New IOS 15.1 Update

Other features of the new IOS 15 update include further privacy feature to help ensure apple users' safety**.** Users can check third-party trackers, domains, and apps on their phone via app privacy report. "Hide My Email" lets users generate random email addresses that forward to their personal inbox to prevent sharing personal information. Users can also share location once with an app, instead of every time they use it. Since the latest update, only 4% of Apple users have opted to allow app tracking. Lastly, Apple will begin asking users in the App Store if they’d like to receive targeted ads. Previously, all users were automatically opted in.

What Does the IOS 15 Update Mean for Digital Advertising?

As the Apple update continues to roll in for users, marketers need to come up with a way of reaching the same audiences as they have done in recent history. The IOS 15 update impact on advertising requires the first touchpoint with customers to become a crucial focus feature of a marketing plan. Metrics such as CTR & conversions have become a staple in measuring campaign affectiveness and now more than ever before they have become increasingly important as email open rates unjustly inflate. This along with third-party cookies being on the decline despite Google extending their use out 1 more year into 2023 has made digital marketing more difficult for some agencies. However, at Red Shark Digital we have revised our targeting strategies and tactics to continue to advertise to the intended targeted demographic for our clients. Our methodologies are not restrictive based on cookie data, and allow our digital marketing campaigns to flourish.  Want to get started with digital advertising? Contact Red Shark Digital today to see continued results despite the recent IOS 15.1 update.