iPhone owners should probably prepare to see advertisements being delivered to them via push notifications. This is one of the areas Apple has refused to compromise on in recent times, but those times are changing.
Push notifications can be useful as they can keep a device owner up to date on many things, including messages, emails, weather, and traffic alerts. However, they can also become annoying when an app opts to take advantage and inundate the user with notifications. Now, their level of annoyance might increase, thanks to the latest changes to iOS.
Apple recently confirmed it is making some changes to its development guidelines. These changes cover a number of dos and don’ts, but one in particular relates directly to the way devices owners are alerted by apps. As spotted by 9to5Mac, Apple is now letting developers serve ads through push notifications. Although, the documentation does explain that users must have the option to opt-out and have agreed to opt-in to begin with. In other news, while Apple is relaxing the rules regarding push notification ads, it is tightening the rules around dating and fortune telling apps, suggesting they will be rejected if they do not offer a unique or quality experience.
Push Notification Ads Are Coming
While Apple appears to be attempting to limit the impact of this change, it is still making this change, and that can only mean an increase in the number of ads that are delivered to users via notifications. For example, while the company expects developers to seek permission before delivering ads, how many permissions do phone owners already give without even knowing they have? Likewise, how many iOS and Android users remain unaware of how to turn off any permissions they don’t want to give? Both of these instances highlight a fundamental issue with how much informed consent phone owners currently provide, and it remains to be seen why this change would be any different?
Smartphones, as well as electronics devices in general, have become a minefield of issues and privacy concerns lately, and ads always remain one that keeps cropping up. Of course, this is not surprising considering ad revenue is so important to so many companies, but the shady tactics often employed by advertisers and third-party companies suggests that some will try to make sure they are delivering ads to users, irrespective of whether the user wants them. Yes, Apple may come down hard on those who do breach these rules, but as has been seen in the past, punishing apps and individual developers is a short-term fix, not a long-term solution to a problem that keeps surfacing.
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Source: 9to5Mac
