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Twitter CFO says iOS 14 privacy changes could level the playing field

Credit: Wall Street Journal

Twitter CFO Ned Segal says the company feels confident about Apple's planned iOS 14 privacy changes, and added that the feature could allow Twitter to better compete with its rivals.

Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom conference, Segal said that Twitter feels good about its ability to leverage "the unique signal that Twitter has with a growing audience, with better formats and more relevance and the ability to better leverage that signal, much of which isn't tied to a device ID."

The Twitter CFO added that the changes to the Identifier for Advertisers tag, which are slated to roll out in the spring, could actually allow the social media company to compete more effectively against other social media platforms, according to CNBC

"IDFA in a way is going to level the playing field. We're in an industry where many were much better than Twitter historically at leveraging all of the data that was available to them, from the device ID to what people were doing on other websites," Segal said. "When we all have the same set of new challenges that we have to face, leveling the playing field will be a really interesting impact on the broader industry."

Instead of rushing to ask users to opt into IDFA tracking, Segal said that Twitter will instead wait and see how the change plays out.

"You only have one chance to ask somebody if you can have access to their device ID to show them more relevant ads. You want to ask in a really thoughtful way, and you want to take time to learn from the industry and the broader ecosystem before you ask a question like that," he said.

The iOS 14 privacy feature will make IDFA tracking strictly opt-in on a per-app basis. Some companies, including Facebook, have rallied against the feature, saying it'll hurt advertising revenue.

Twitter, for its part, said in February that the feature will have a "modest impact" on its revenue.