Facebook Inc. is letting iPhone users know how their data is being used for personalized ads in a pre-emptive move before Apple Inc. makes privacy changes to its operating system that Facebook claims will hurt its advertising business.
A notification on the smartphone screen will ask Facebook FB and Instagram users to let their app and website activity be used for personalized ads and to “support businesses that rely on ads to reach customers,” according to a Facebook blog post on Monday.
The unusual move by Facebook is the latest in a public spat over Apple’s AAPL decision to ask iPhone users whether to allow apps to track them across other websites and apps. Such a feature, Facebook claims, would severely limit online advertising and kill small businesses in the process.
“We believe Apple’s new prompt is designed to present a false trade off between personalized ads and privacy; when in fact, we can provide both,” a Facebook spokeswoman told MarketWatch.
The dispute has led to public criticisms between both the companies that has Facebook considering legal action vs. Apple.
Read more: Why Facebook is considering an antitrust lawsuit against Apple
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