Snap Inc.. (NYSE: SNAP) dares the wrath of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) on investigating ways to investigate the iPhone maker’s new privacy rules, which are expected to be released in the coming weeks, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
What happened: Snap, the parent of the messaging app Snapchat, has been exploring ways to collect data from companies that analyze whether people have responded to ad campaigns, according to the FT report, which cited internal documents of the company.
Snap allegedly hoped to cross-reference the data with its own user database and track the users, in a technique known as ‘probabilistic matching’.
Although Snap acknowledged that it had a likely compliance program for several months to test the impact of Apple’s new policies, the company indicated that it intended to discontinue the program after Apple introduced the changes, according to the report. .
See also: Snapchat parent to launch AR glasses and a drone, further hardware pressure: Report
Why it matters: Apple’s upcoming privacy changes give users more privacy over mobile ads, but are unpopular with app developers, many of whom are small businesses. The new feature requires apps to get permission from users before they can detect it, according to Apple.
Snap is reportedly not the only company that has investigated Apple’s new privacy rules to continue tracking users without their permission. Last month, it was reported that Apple warned Chinese app developers and technology companies not to circumvent the new privacy rules.
Five of China’s largest technology enterprises, including Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU), Tencent Holdings Ltd. (OTC: TCEHY) and ByteDance allegedly testing or implementing CAID, a system developed by the state-sponsored China Advertising Association, to identify and track users in the future. Other proposed solutions apparently use a process known as fingerprinting.
Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), the second largest recipient of advertising revenue thereafter Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), has been bitterly critical of Apple’s changes to privacy rules for months, saying the changes could affect the targeted ads on its platform. However, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last month that the rule changes could benefit his business if more businesses decide to sell goods directly via Facebook and Instagram.
Price action: Snap shares closed 4.2% higher at $ 54.49 on Thursday, while Apple shares closed 0.7% higher at $ 123.00.
Read more: Microsoft pulls tentacles around Pentagon with $ 22B AR headset deal, says analyst
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