Do you remember the privacy war between Whatsapp and Telegram?

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Since the IOS 14 update, a lot of changes in the online eco-system have been stirred:

• Digital Ads have become four times more expensive
• Privacy as a feature has found its footing amongst the audience
• Monetization models of different apps have started changing
• Facebook changed its name to Meta

Why did Apple come up with the privacy update?

Post-2015, Apple’s highest revenue bagging product – iPhone- has seen a considerable dip in its sales; the growth percentage of sales dipped yearly.
And Apple’s ad revenue has increased after the IOS update (App Tracking Transparency Framework). 

The privacy update has managed to hit two birds with one stone –

• Garnered the customer’s trust by emphasizing privacy
• Increased their ad revenue 

How is this update impacting the monetization eco-system?

Earlier, most apps offered their services for free and in exchange for user data, the users paid in the form of their time and attention – by watching ads.

This is changing; popular apps have started offering freemium versions for monetization. 

• There are talks about Whatsapp monetization, reverting to its freemium version. 
Whatsapp was initially available at an annual renewal fee of $0.99.

• Telegram has launched its new set of premium features at INR 499 per month.

Do you think as ad blindness has increased, slowly majority of internet users will shift to paid versions of apps to avoid the ads?