About 21% of global consumers use an ad blocker, according to this Blockthrough study. The rate has been roughly flat for the past few years, rising slightly for desktop users and falling for mobile devices in 2022. The more intriguing news is that 95% of adblock users agree to allow non-intrusive ads when given the choice.
When Apple started to enforce its Application Tracking Transparency (ATT) rules for iPhone in April 2021, no one knew how many users would share their IDFA device ID when given an explicit choice. More than one year later, Pubmatic reports the rate is about 30% for iOS 14.5 and higher, compared with 55% for earlier iOS versions. One secondary result is that impressions with IDFA present earn a cost per thousand (eCPM) that’s 2.7x higher than impressions without an IDFA.
CIAM (Customer Identity and Access Management) was once largely about managing employee access to company systems, but it’s increasingly applied to consumer log-ins and identities as well. This creates an overlap with the identity management systems more traditionally used for customer data. The expanded market helps to explain why private investor Thoma Bravo just paid $2.8 billion for CIAM vendor Ping Identity, a 60% premium of its most recent stock price and just under 10x revenue.
Google is facing another antitrust lawsuit, this time in Canada, specifically focusing on anti-competitive practices in online advertising. The Competition Tribunal has been asked to order Google to sell two of its ad tech tools, prohibit future anti-competitive practices and fine the company billions of dollars. In response, Google points to a highly competitive market offering plenty of alternatives.