We’ve discussed at length about the upcoming changes in mobile measurement as a result of IDFA becoming opt-in in iOS 14.

A critical aspect of navigating this change is about managing user consent to make the most of the options in iOS 14. In this episode, we talk about what you can do with consent flows – and why it matters for your iOS 14 strategy.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

📋 Why getting consent matters.

💬 You can only ask once.

🔔 Test soft prompts before a hard one, much like for PNs

🎯 Test the right messaging in the Apple-provided prompt

⏳ Why delaying opt-in is the best decision in certain cases

An important part of the workflow in iOS 14, and something that’s going to be very, very critical going forward is the process of user consent. 

So, iOS 14 does not deprecate IDFA altogether. All it does is make IDFAs opt-in, rather than opt-out. So in the past, by default, you would get access to IDFAs, unless a user turned off IDFA tracking via LAT, and right now, an advertiser does not get access by default, unless a user explicitly gives consent. Therefore, the process of getting consent is going to become very, very critical going forward with iOS 14.

Getting consent helps you maximise the percentage of IDFAs that you’re able to attribute and also use for future targeting. So you don’t just get to know, oh, where does this user come from which is going to be fraught and somewhat inaccurate, but more importantly, you can use these IDFAs that you obtained via getting consent to target users in the future. 

For instance, if these are high-value users, you can essentially build profiles and lookalikes off of these IDFAs that you get consent for, in order to track and target your users better going forward. 

Now, with that background, there are four important considerations and things that you could be doing around consent to make the most of the options in iOS 14, and to maximise your opt-in rate in iOS 14. 

1. You can only ask once, so you do need to choose very carefully. To elaborate, Apple’s documentation says the requestTrackingAuthorization(completionHandler:) is a one-time request to authorise or deny access to app-related data that can be used for tracking the user or the device. The system remembers the user’s choice, and does not prompt again, unless the user uninstalls and then reinstalls the app on the device.

Therefore, if you show a content prompt and the user says: “No”, you’re never going to be able to ask them again. So this is something you need to be extremely careful and cognizant of as you go forward.

2. You can and you should serve soft prompts. If you have run push notification prompts in the past, you are perhaps familiar with this. But this basically means you can show a prompt of your own that is not provided by Apple that says: “Hey, we are a small independent studio, and advertising pays our bills. Would you consent to allow personalised advertising?”

You know, you have to test that messaging to see what makes the most sense. But if a user says: “Yes”, then you show them the official Apple prompt. If a user says: “No”, do not show the official Apple prompt, just because you can only show the official Apple prompt once.

So if you test soft prompts, it allows you to show the actual Apple prompt only to the users who are most interested or who are most likely to opt-in, and also lets you preserve your ammunition for a future time, if in case a user isn’t ready to opt-in at this point of time.

3. You can still customise the Apple-provided prompt. Now of course, there’s a portion of the problem—the headline—which cannot be customised or edited, which is to say: “App XYZ would like permission to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies.” which is somewhat ominous.

However, the part below that—the NS user tracking user description—that’s a message that informs the user why you’re requesting permission to track data. That is absolutely something you should customise. It’s not possible to A/B test that as rigorously as you would be able to A/B test a soft prompt; just because this is an Apple-provided dialogue. However you can and should test, even if it’s via testing pre/post conversion rates, as to what messaging makes the most sense here.

4. You can choose not to show a prompt at all. So, quite a few people we work with are considering this option, because your app only needs to request permission to track before tracking occurs. So you can choose not to track a user altogether.

So the reason why this is a possible option is because quite a few apps we’ve worked with have said: “Look, this can be a very disruptive first-time user experience.” The user installs an app for the first time, and then sees an ominous prompt that says: “Oh, this app would like to track you across other apps and websites.” That’s scary for a user that is installing for the first time. So we’re just going to choose not to show the prompt at all, we will use SK ad network to basically do our attribution.

And eventually, further down in the user’s flow—let’s say they get to use level 50; let’s say they make $20 a purchase, or $50 a purchase— then we might just show a prompt to see if we can capture the IDFAs and target them separately.

So, that’s definitely an option that you can and should keep that in mind, just because you are by no means obligated to show a prompt to get users to opt-in. Obviously, you know, if you do not show the prompt, you do not get any information or you do not get any IDFAs, personally identifiable information. However, not showing a prompt is absolutely an option just as well. 

So those are the four considerations that we recommend keeping in mind for consent and maximising your opt-in rates when you show consent pop ups. I hope that was somewhat helpful, as you’re able to navigate the somewhat choppy waters of iOS 14 that are coming. Thank you.

A REQUEST BEFORE YOU GO

I have a very important favor to ask, which as those of you who know me know I don’t do often. If you get any pleasure or inspiration from this episode, could you PLEASE leave a review on your favorite podcasting platform – be it iTunes, Overcast, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast fix. This podcast is very much a labor of love – and each episode takes many many hours to put together. When you write a review, it will not only be a great deal of encouragement to us, but it will also support getting the word out about the Mobile User Acquisition Show.

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Thank you – and I look forward to seeing you with the next episode!