Integrating LiveRamp’s ATS into InMobi’s SDK connects TextNow’s ad inventory to the 400-plus marketers using ATS, said InMobi VP of Customer Success Ram “TK” Krishnamurthy. To use the identity solution, TextNow installed the SDK of InMobi, a longtime partner, which it previously had not done. TextNow picked LiveRamp ATS because it was “one of the first to wade deeply into in-app and out of the context of web,” Thor said. UnifID allows publishers to integrate ID solutions from multiple partners into their tech stacks, but for the purposes of this test case, TextNow only used LiveRamp’s ATS and RampID. TextNow measured the baseline performance of its consented user base on iOS, then applied the alternative ID solution to see how it would affect fill rates and CPMs for ads targeting consented users.

The solution works on consented traffic, increasing addressability for users who have opted into allowing their device ID to be used for tracking. So TextNow started testing alternate IDs, turning to InMobi’s UnifID and LiveRamp’s Authenticated Traffic Solution (ATS) and RampID. The post-ATT results weren’t catastrophic for TextNow’s ad business, but its iOS app entered “a sustained period of limited growth” as a result of the ATT changes in the iOS 14 update, Thor said.

“As users are given more choice, and as data policies and privacy laws become more strict, we need to invest in solutions that will allow us to monetize our users in privacy-safe ways and mitigate the impact of addressability concerns caused by the disappearance of identifiers,” Thor said.

After Apple rolled out the tracking prompt, TextNow felt a “substantial impact” that accelerated opt-out rates, Thor said. And the impending Privacy Sandbox changes for Android will entirely phase out Google’s ad ID by 2024.īefore ATT, about 30% of TextNow users opted out of providing their IDFA, which the company considered lower than the norm. Following Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) initiative, more iOS users are opting out of allowing their device ID – known on Apple platforms as IDFA – to be used for ad targeting.

Textnow or text plus app