Apple & Google: Vertical Integration in Mobile
Alphabet 2023 ad revenue: $237.86 billion (10-K filing).
Data collection via Android: GPS location, WiFi scanning, app usage, sensor data. Chrome: 65%+ global browser share (StatCounter). Gmail: 1.8B users. Google Pay tracks purchases.
Google controls: demand side (Google Ads, DV360), supply side (AdSense, Ad Manager), exchange (AdX), measurement (GA4), DNS (8.8.8.8), CDN (Google Global Cache).
Location History Scandal (2018)
AP investigation (August 13, 2018): Google tracked location data even when “Location History” was explicitly turned off, via separate “Web & App Activity” setting. November 2022: $391.5 million settlement with 40 state attorneys general — largest multi-state AG privacy settlement in US history at that time.
Source: Oregon DOJ announcement (November 14, 2022).
Apple
Privacy marketing: “What happens on your iPhone stays on your iPhone” (CES 2019).
Operates growing ad business, primarily Search Ads in App Store.
App Tracking Transparency (ATT), April 2021
iOS 14.5 required explicit consent before tracking via IDFA. Opt-in rates: ~25% (Flurry Analytics, 2021). Meta reported ATT would cost ~$10 billion in 2022 revenue (Q4 2021 earnings call, February 2022).
Apple Search Ads largely exempt (first-party ecosystem). Apple ad revenue: ~$4B (2021) to ~$7B+ (2023) (Evercore ISI estimates).
SKAdNetwork
Apple’s attribution framework: aggregated, delayed conversion data replacing granular user-level tracking.
Vertical Integration Comparison
Google owns: OS (Android), browser (Chrome), search engine, ad exchange, analytics, email, DNS resolver, CDN, mobile payment system, voice assistant.
Apple owns: hardware, OS (iOS/macOS), only permitted browser engine on iOS (WebKit, per App Store rule 2.5.6 — loosening under EU DMA as of March 2024), App Store (15-30% commission, full app review), payment rail (Apple Pay), growing ad network.
Both control push notification delivery, background app refresh policies, and on-device encryption keys.
Sources
- Alphabet 2023 10-K
- AP Investigation (August 2018)
- Oregon DOJ settlement (November 2022)
- Meta Q4 2021 earnings call (February 2022)
- Flurry Analytics ATT opt-in data (2021)
- Apple App Store Review Guidelines 2.5.6
- EU Digital Markets Act (March 2024)