The War for Privacy: Apple vs. Facebook

Apple and Facebook are not great friends at the moment; think of Ross and Rachel on a break. A big portion of Facebook’s revenue comes from advertising, where businesses pay money on advertisements to drive business results, whether purchases via app subscriptions or a brand-building aspect via video views.

Apple, on the other hand, has a business model that isn’t based on advertising, rather it’s largely based on the hardware they sell (iPhones, iPads, Macbooks…). In addition, they also get some revenue from subscriptions to apple music and app purchases from the App Store. Since its inception, Apple has had a focus on the user’s privacy, and with every iOS update, they work on reducing the amount of information that others can track. What will most likely happen to businesses is that it will be a rough couple of years for them, and then they’ll figure out a way to drive business and send users relevant ads without needing to largely breach their privacy.

Apple made an advertisement about tracking and privacy. Its message is very clear, explaining to the user as they go about their day, make purchases, check their bank account, how multiple websites (represented in the form of people in the video) track them and take note of that information. With Apple’s hardware and software functionality, you can block apps and websites from tracking your information.