How Apple’s Updated Privacy Policy Is Hurting Meta

Meta just experienced its biggest stock drop ever, while Google continues to outperform across Big Tech companies. 

The most significant factor impacting the company formerly known as Facebook? Apple. 

Last year, Apple revamped its privacy policy, giving users more control over which apps could track their data, something that Meta heavily relies on. 

While Google also relies on ad targeting, their method differs since users “self target” through their own unique searches.  

Plus, Apple and Google have a friendly relationship in which Google pays Apple billions each year to be the default search engine on the Safari browser. 

After Meta revealed disappointing earnings and a dip in monthly active users for the first time that led its stocks to fall by 25%, it’s clear that Apple’s new policy is making its presence known. 

In the meantime, Google reported impressive fourth-quarter results and analysts predict its parent company Alphabet to see a 23% gain during the first quarter of 2022. 

“We are dependent on the interoperability of Facebook with popular mobile-operating systems that we do not control, such as Android and iOS, and any changes in such systems that degrade our products’ functionality or give preferential treatment to competitive products could adversely affect Facebook usage on mobile devices,” Meta said back in it 2012 IPO prospectus, seemingly predicting this week’s news nearly one decade ago. 

In short, investors’ fears are valid as Facebook’s activity continues to tumble. Although Mark Zuckerberg hopes the answer is in the metaverse, the virtual world is far from being fully realized.