App Store search ads.
Categories

The DeanBeat: How the ad ecosystem will cope with Apple’s IDFA changes

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 13 min

Game companies, app developers, and mobile marketers are resigned to losing the Identifier for Advertisers (also known as IDFA), which has enabled advertisers to target users with relevant ads for years. Now those companies are figuring out what will happen next.

By getting rid of IDFA, Apple believes it can protect user privacy. But critics say it will dismantle the effectiveness of advertising, resulting in higher costs for users and layoffs at lots of game companies and mobile marketers. Those critics fear an apocalypse that could lead to a collapse of in-game and app revenues.

Unlock premium content and VIP community perks with GB M A X! Join now to enjoy our free and premium perks. 

Join now →

Sign in to your account.

Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.