Kin and Carta : Apple WWDC 2021 announcements and what they mean for you

Privacy is yet again at the forefront of Apple's software updates agenda, with a particular focus this time on customer experience.

It is no longer just about keeping customer data safe, but providing true transparency and control over it. The new iOS privacy dashboard could also give users the ability to see which apps are collecting their data and managing the permissions accordingly. Their Mail app will also be blocking pixel based email trackers, making it difficult for advertisers to know which emails have been opened. Apple will also begin obscuring IP addresses of its users during searches, making it harder for companies to track and target users.

Another new feature that has been unveiled is the new Focus mode. iOS users are now in control of what notifications they get at which parts of the day and which apps are visible when.

The impact could be vast. First and foremost, it's shifting customer expectations for future applications. They are becoming more aware and conscious of their data and the different ways it can be used and abused. Consequently, their expectations of what good privacy should look like will advance. Secondly, if users are in control of what apps they see on their screen on a daily basis, those that take a secondary priority could become even less used as their visibility falls. This shouldn't automatically be a cause for concern. As ever, it's important to be intelligent about identifying which metrics matter most for your app. While chasing MAU increases might seem like the intuitively right thing to do, it might not be the answer for every application.