Without Apple and iPhone, we wouldn’t exist, says Snapchat CEO – Times of India

The app tracking transparency (ATT) feature on iPhone saw many companies — Facebook being the biggest — criticise Apple for forcibly changing their business model. However, Snapchat and its CEO seem to feel very differently. Apple charges about 30% fees on any in-app transactions on platforms like Snapchat. Evan Speigel, CEO of Snapchat, said that he has no problem with Apple’s rules. According to a report by CNBC, Spiegel said that they don’t have a choice but to pay a 30% fee but “we’re happy to do it in exchange for all of the amazing technology that they provide to us in terms of the software but also in terms of their hardware advancements.”
He further said that “We really feel like Snapchat wouldn’t exist without the iPhone and without the amazing platform that Apple has created.”
Wading in on the privacy issues and Apple, Speigel told CNBC that Snapchat is on the same page as Apple. “We’re really aligned with them on the changes they’re making to help protect privacy,” Spiegel said. He also said that Snapchat had made early investments to protect user privacy about 10 years ago and they are “really paying off.”
ATT will impact the advertising business model of companies like Facebook and Snapchat, something Spiegel is very well aware of. He said that Snapchat has been working with its advertisers to shift to Apple’s SKAd network. Apple uses that network to measure how effective advertising is for apps. Spiegel said that the transition “has gone smoothly for our business.”
Facebook, on the other hand, was the most vociferous when it comes to criticising Apple’s new feature. The Mark Zuckerberg-led company was convinced that Apple is doing it for profits and not for user privacy. Facebook also said that the feature would ‘kill’ small businesses. Apple didn’t budge and the feature is live for all iPhone users across the world and gives them the chance to say no to tracking of their data from apps on their device.