App opt-in rates climb despite Apple’s permission requirements

App opt-in rates soared in 2021, putting to rest fears about the impact of Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) framework. The rate across all sectors was 25%, up from 16% the previous year, according to a report from mobile measurement company Adjust.

ATT is part of iOS 14.5 and requires apps to ask permission to track online activity. At its launch last April there were concerns about its impact on data collecting. Gaming had the most opt-ins at 30%, followed by social (22%), e-commerce (21%), travel (17%), lifestyle (15%), entertainment (14%), fintech and health and fitness (11%), publications (10%). 

Installs were up too. Installs have grown YoY in all verticals tracked by Adjust. Fintech was up by 35% and gaming by 32%. Hyper-casual games made up the highest share of installs (27%) but action games accounted for the most sessions (30%).

Other takeaways:

• Users spent a collective one billion hours in shopping apps last year, up 18% YOY.
• Mobile retail racked up $3.5 trillion in ecommerce sales.
• Mobile accounts for 67% of all ecommerce sales.
• 55% of people who shop on their smartphones made a purchase after seeing a social media ad.
• $295 billion was spent on mobile game advertising last year, up 23% YOY. 

Why we care. There is very reasonable concern about consumers explicitly consenting to tracking. The early returns suggest the reluctance will not be as bad as some have feared. Across the board, the mobile app market looks healthy and looks like an increasingly attractive channel to engage with audiences.

About The Author

Constantine von Hoffman is managing editor of MarTech. A veteran journalist, Con has covered business, finance, marketing and tech for CBSNews.com, Brandweek, CMO, and Inc. He has been city editor of the Boston Herald, news producer at NPR, and has written for Harvard Business Review, Boston Magazine, Sierra, and many other publications. He has also been a professional stand-up comedian, given talks at anime and gaming conventions on everything from My Neighbor Totoro to the history of dice and boardgames, and is author of the magical realist novel John Henry the Revelator. He lives in Boston with his wife, Jennifer, and either too many or too few dogs.