Tag: Google

Australia – It’s that time again to review what has been – the good, the bad, and the exciting – in the year that’s past. What people are searching on the internet has always been a top indicator of the issues and trends that are currently keeping them on their toes, and in the case of vibrant and diverse Aussies, pandemic remains to be the top tenant of their mindspace. 

How to get a vaccination certificate and how to make a DIY face mask emerged as some of the leading searches in the ‘How to’ category, showing how the pandemic not seeing its definitive end this year continues to keep Aussies busy on making the best of the health crisis.

Aside from the pandemic, Google found four more emerging themes in the searches of Australians over 2021 such as sports, DIY projects, world events, and home cooking. 

Sports-loving Aussies can’t help to relish this interest with the top seven queries overall relating to basketball, footy, cricket, tennis, and the Olympics. Meanwhile, more time indoors made Aussies more comfortable exploring DIY projects where top ‘How to’ and DIY searches relate to curiosity in playing with candles, playdough, and paper boats. The pandemic dampening opportunities to meet people in person have made it up to themselves to break monotony day-to-day, showing keenness to explore classes in dance, pottery, piano, and even glass blowing. 

This year, Aussies were boggled with both local and world events, trying to be up to speed with the earthquake in Melbourne and the crisis in Afghanistan. The top searches also showed Aussies had been very interested in learning more about worldly concepts with search for terms emancipated, insurrection, and gaslighting leading the list.

On a lighter note, the domination of home cooking during the lockdown-heavy period didn’t leave Aussies behind. Aussies’ palate showed cravings for guacamole and tzatziki recipes with curried sausages coming up as an unexpected trend. Searches also demonstrated that Aussies returned to classic comfort food, craving gnocchi, lamb shanks, and minestrone soup, squeezing in their love for sweets with searches pointing to Anzac biscuits and rocky road. 

Overall, the top five searches by Aussies in 2021 were NBA, AFL, Australia vs India, NRL, and Euro 2021. 

Grouped per category by Google, here is the full list of the top searches in Australia for 2021:

Overall searches

  1. NBA
  2. AFL
  3. Australia vs India
  4. NRL
  5. Euro 2021
  6. Wimbledon
  7. Olympic medal tally
  8. COVID NSW
  9. Coinspot
  10. Prince Philip

News events

  1. COVID NSW
  2. Cleo Smith
  3. QLD COVID update
  4. Alec Baldwin
  5. Coronavirus Victoria
  6. William Tyrrell
  7. Bert Newton
  8. Christian Porter
  9. Afghanistan
  10. Melbourne earthquake

News events

  1. COVID NSW
  2. Cleo Smith
  3. QLD COVID update
  4. Alec Baldwin
  5. Coronavirus Victoria
  6. William Tyrrell
  7. Bert Newton
  8. Christian Porter
  9. Afghanistan
  10. Melbourne earthquake

Global figures

  1. Alec Baldwin
  2. Rita Ora
  3. Travis Scott
  4. Kyle Rittenhouse
  5. Adele
  6. Naomi Osaka
  7. Pete Davidson
  8. Simone Biles
  9. Tiger Woods
  10. Emma Raducanu

Loss

  1. Prince Philip
  2. Gabby Petito
  3. Bert Newton
  4. Brian Laundrie
  5. Sean Lock
  6. Michael Gudinski
  7. Sarah Everard
  8. Carla Zampatti
  9. Helen McCrory
  10. Larry King

Sport

  1. NBA
  2. AFL
  3. Australia vs India
  4. NRL
  5. Euro 2021
  6. Wimbledon
  7. Olympics
  8. Australian Open
  9. EPL
  10. French Open

Recipe(s)

  1. Gnocchi recipes
  2. Guacamole recipe
  3. Curried sausages recipe
  4. Anzac biscuits recipe
  5. Negroni recipe
  6. Lamb shank recipe
  7. Brussels sprouts recipes
  8. Minestrone soup recipe
  9. Rocky road recipe
  10. Tzatziki recipe

‘How to…?’

  1. How to get vaccination certificate
  2. How to tie a tie
  3. How to deliver uber eats
  4. How to buy dogecoin
  5. How to watch olympics australia
  6. How to book COVID vaccine
  7. How to watch euro 2021 in australia
  8. How to link medicare to mygov
  9. How to book pfizer vaccine
  10. Million dollar vax how to enter

‘How to make…?’ DIY queries

  1. How to make a face mask
  2. How to make candles
  3. How to make playdough
  4. How to make a paper plane
  5. How to make a chatterbox
  6. How to make a website
  7. How to make slime without glue
  8. How to make a paper boat
  9. How to make fake blood
  10. How to make oxygen

Classes and lessons

  1. Dance classes near me
  2. Swimming lessons near me
  3. Driving lessons
  4. Pottery classes
  5. Swimming classes for kids near me
  6. Art classes near me
  7. Guitar lessons near me
  8. Piano lessons near me
  9. Zumba classes near me
  10. Glass blowing classes

Meanings and definitions

  1. Emancipated meaning
  2. Insurrection meaning
  3. Gaslighting meaning
  4. NAIDOC meaning
  5. NFT meaning
  6. Omicron meaning
  7. Frigid meaning
  8. Narcissist meaning
  9. ROC meaning
  10. Sedition meaning

Manila, Philippines – With a fast-growing base of digital consumers and merchants, acceleration in e-commerce, and food delivery, the Philippines’ current internet economy has been recorded as the nation with the highest internet economy growth, with a rate of 93%, according to the latest collaborative research from Google, Temasek, Bain & Company. This has previously been predicted to grow from US$9b in 2020 to US$17b this year. 

Currently, the SEA region is estimated to reach US$174b in gross merchandise value (GMV) by the end of 2021. Furthermore, the region’s digital economy is further expected to reach US$360b by 2025, outgrowing the earlier projection of US$300b.

“Much like the rest of the region, the Philippines is entering its digital decade as the internet increasingly becomes an integral part of the consumers’ daily lives. The growth of the digital market in the country was driven by the explosive 132% growth in e-commerce and double-digit growth across all sectors including food delivery services,” noted the study.

The country has seen 12 million new digital consumers since the start of the pandemic, up to the first half of 2021. About 63% of those new digital consumers are from non-metro areas and 99% say that they intend to continue using these services going forward. Pre-pandemic users have consumed an average of 4.3 more services since the pandemic began and 95% of those pre-pandemic consumers are still found to be digitally-inclined consumers today.

“The pandemic has led to enduring digital adoption in Southeast Asia, which has propelled its internet economy to new heights. Temasek looks forward to increasing our investments in Southeast Asia’s digital champions, using our capital to catalyse digital solutions and accelerate economic growth and job opportunities for our local communities,” said Rohit Sipahimalani, chief investment strategist and head of Southeast Asia at Temasek.

It is estimated that the Philippines’ overall internet economy will likely reach US$40b in value, growing at 24% CAGR, which can be amplified due to strict lockdowns as well as heightened adoption of certain digital services.

Willy Chang, associate partner at Bain & Company, commented, “The Philippines’ internet economy is the fastest growing in SEA as a result of strict COVID-19 restrictions and a large number of new digital consumers. There remains ample headroom for growth as long as digital enablers continue to develop. For example, we saw a strong adoption of digital payment methods such as e-wallets and national real-time payment rails which facilitated the growth of the internet economy.” 

The report also noted that 39% of local digital merchants believe they would not have survived the pandemic if not for digital platforms. Digital merchants now use an average of two digital platforms, but profitability remains a top concern. Digital financial services saw very rapid growth this year, not only from e-wallets but also from the national payment rail. 

Of the digital merchants surveyed, 97% now accept digital payments, while 67% have adopted digital lending solutions. Many are also embracing digital tools to engage with their customers, with 68% expecting to increase usage of digital marketing tools in the next five years.

Bernadette Nacario, country director at Google Philippines said, “The digital adoption we’ve seen in the Philippines since last year has contributed to the accelerated growth of the country’s internet economy, magnifying its vast potential. Google is committed to helping Filipinos maximize the opportunities of going digital and helping the country shape an internet economy that is equitable, safe, and inclusive through programs and products that improve lives.”

Bangkok, Thailand – With many Thai businesses projected to shut down by the end of 2021 due to the pandemic, mobile operator dtac has launched its new improved 700MHz spectrum signal with its new campaign, aimed at helping local businesses survive and thrive by giving its advertising space to promote their own businesses.

The launch of the new 700MHz spectrum is a reflection of the brand’s ambition to become a network for all, as dtac is committed to ensuring digital access through intensive network coverage expansion, to reduce inequalities and empower societies with the ability to use digital technology.

Titled ‘#GoodforAll’, the new campaign, created in collaboration with Google and creative and CRM agency Wunderman Thompson, adopted hyper-personalization marketing through data-driven creative where online ad spaces were personalized to regional level dialects and location specific targeting of local communities. Using technology and data, Wunderman Thompson produced more than 300 highly personalized creatives just for dtac’s real customers to find new customers in their local areas on the spaces.

Through the campaign, dtac selected customers from 50 provinces across the country where their businesses were promoted on billboards, out of home, and TV tie ins, as well as online films – personalized at nationwide scale, all of which were donated by dtac. 

Lih Ren How, dtac’s chief marketing officer, believes that building deeper connections with the local communities and people is important, and this emotional engagement differentiates their brand. 

Meanwhile, Park Wannasiri, the chief creative director of Wunderman Thompson Thailand, said they focused on how they can fight together with their customers. 

“In every touchpoint, down the whole funnel. Hats off to our brave clients. They did put in all of their capability to help real people, by doing good without expecting something in return. In the end you get the result you deserve,” said Wannasiri.

Sean Ong, Wunderman Thompson’s director of strategy for Thailand, shared that their strategy was to change the conversation of the category, and the category was focused on the future technology (5G), which may seem appealing but unattainable for the majority of Thais. 

“In contrast, dtac’s ‘#GoodForAll’ changed the conversation from flighty dreams of the future, to practical tangible improvements that people need today. dtac 700MHz network improvements increased data capabilities and coverage on existing handsets. These are benefits that can help drive small businesses and customers to overcome the challenges they are facing now. It was more than a telecommunications network but a network of support and progress,” said Ong. 

More than 1,500 dtac customers and businesses participated in this campaign, with 120 businesses given free ad spaces to promote their businesses – directly infusing a lifeline back to their businesses.

Singapore – Despite 57% of internet users in Malaysia experiencing a personal data breach or knowing someone who had, 93% of the respondents admit to practicing poor online habits, including sharing, recycling and using guessable passwords. The findings are part of Google’s latest digital responsibility study conducted across APAC.

The study found that 80% of respondents in Malaysia use the same passwords for multiple sites, with 45% of the respondents admitting to recycling passwords for up to 10 unique sites. Among these password recyclers, 40% say they do so in fear of forgetting new passwords, while 41% say it is simply convenient to use the same ones.

“We know from past research that people who have had their data exposed by a breach are 10 times more likely to be hijacked. When we share, recycle and use guessable passwords we put our personal information, including payment data, at exponential risk,” said Chuah Jia Wen, industry head of CPG and retail at Google Malaysia.

Furthermore, 51% of local respondents confessed to using guessable passwords, spanning the most easily crackable combinations from significant dates and significant others to pet names and even postal codes. Worse still, 25% of the respondents admit to saving their passwords in the ‘Notes’ app of their mobile phones, most of which are not encrypted by default.

In regards to security in online transactions, 60% of the respondents admit to making purchases on pages without the secure symbol on the page’s hyperlink. Notable too is that 70% of respondents who save financial information online also share passwords with friends and family, putting themselves at greater risk of a personal data breach with passwords used across multiple devices.

Despite these online security lapses, 64% of respondents say that they are likely to adopt two-factor authentication (2FA), even if it is not mandatory. Meanwhile, 80% of respondents also say that in the face of a potential data breach, they will choose to change their password immediately. Interestingly, 33% of those who would not change their passwords immediately are believed to be acting out of caution, citing that the breach notification could well be a scam on its own.

“It is clear from our findings that internet users in Malaysia desire to get better at managing their digital health. The challenge, however, lies in the gap between knowledge and action, and key to plugging this gap is access to tools that can adequately equip people with both security and convenience,” Chuah stated.

She added, “That’s why we focus on providing easy to use tools to help people take charge of their online safety, and we strongly encourage everyone to take full advantage of them especially in this year-end season, where the need to safeguard against holiday hacking is more crucial than ever before.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – airasia academy, the edutech arm of airasia Digital, and Google Malaysia have partnered in providing free digital courses for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia, as part of its BINA Digital program, which targets building a progressive business plan structured to supercharge their efforts online while looking into technical methods of productivity.

Said collaboration aims to empower the SME community in reskilling and upskilling themselves to digitize their business, stay relevant, be equipped with modern tech skill sets and continue to excel in their businesses.

Google’s involvement in the collaboration includes the utilization of the Google Primer, a mobile app that offers quick, easy-to-understand lessons to help business owners and individuals grow skills and reach their goals. The free courses are now available for SMEs or any individual who is interested to learn via the on-demand Learning platform at airasia digital’s website.

The first 50 airasia academy students who have completed the Primer series by 31 October 2021 will have the option to subscribe to courses on the on-demand Learning platform at only RM10 a month. They will also stand a chance to win a free seat to airasia academy instructor-led training courses and a lunch date with Aireen Omar, president of airasia digital when they have fully completed the Primer series.

Omar stated that they are delighted to embark on this journey together with Google Malaysia and look forward to reskilling and upskilling thousands of SMEs in Malaysia so they can be more resilient and continue to contribute positively to the economy.

She also added that the free courses will consist of nine minicourses for beginners, intermediate and advanced levels with topics such as ‘Grow your business and generate revenue’, ‘Take your business online’, ‘Get started with digital advertising’, among others.

“The SMEs are a key pillar of our economy. In these tough times, we’ve seen many local SMEs struggling to stay afloat and we want to continue playing our part by providing free access to those in need to ensure that they are equipped with tech skill sets to grow their businesses. Many businesses are sometimes unsure where to start and we believe these free courses can guide them into taking the first step to learn new tech skill sets.” Omar explained.

Meanwhile, Marc Woo, managing director at Google Malaysia, commented that by continuing to work with their long-standing partners like airasia academy, Google remains committed to ensuring that every business has the support and tools they need to recover and rebuild for the long run.

“Malaysians are spending more time online and as we embark on the path of economic recovery, digital technologies are pivotal to help SMEs adapt. This means that when these businesses go online, they can reach their customers faster, which in turn generates a higher uplift in our digital economy. It is even more crucial now than ever that we continue to help businesses of all sizes build digital skill sets,” Woo stated.

Sydney, Australia – The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released a report today that has raised concerns on the state of the advertising technology space in Australia, specifically tech giant Google’s dominance of the sector, which may potentially harm advertisers and publishers.

According to their report inquiry, Google has a dominant position in key parts of the adtech supply chain and estimates that more than 90% of ad impressions traded via the adtech supply chain passed through at least one Google service in 2020.

It is estimated that in Australia, at least 27% of advertiser spend on ads sold via the adtech supply chain was retained by adtech providers in 2020.

Furthermore, the report finds that Google has used its position to preference its own services and shield them from competition. For example, Google prevents rival adtech services from accessing ads on YouTube, providing its own adtech services with an important advantage. In addition, Google has also refused to participate in publisher-led header bidding, an industry innovation aimed at increasing competition for publishers’ inventory, and previously allowed its services to have a ‘last look’ opportunity to outbid rivals.

“Google has used its vertically integrated position to operate its adtech services in a way that has, over time, led to a less competitive adtech industry. This conduct has helped Google to establish and entrench its dominant position in the adtech supply chain,” Rod Sims, chair at ACCC, said.

Part of the tech giant’s dominance in the adtech sector are key acquisitions of several companies such as DoubleClick in 2007, AdMob in 2009, as well as YouTube in 2006. In addition, factors such as access to consumer and other data, access to exclusive inventory and integration across its adtech services cemented their dominance in the sector.

“Google’s activities across the supply chain also mean that, in a single transaction, Google can act on behalf of both the advertiser (the buyer) and the publisher (the seller) and operate the ad exchange connecting these two parties. As the interests of these parties do not align, this creates conflicts of interest for Google which can harm both advertisers and publishers,” Sims stated.

He added that the ACCC is concerned with Google’s adtech dominance, noting that the lack of competition has likely led to higher adtech fees. He further stated that an inefficient adtech industry means higher costs for both publishers and advertisers, which is likely to reduce the quality or quantity of online content and ultimately results in consumers paying more for advertised goods.

“The ACCC is considering specific allegations against Google under existing competition laws. However new regulatory solutions are needed to address Google’s dominance and to restore competition to the adtech sector for the benefit of businesses and consumers. We recommend rules be considered to manage conflicts of interest, prevent anti-competitive self-preferencing, and ensure rival adtech providers can compete on their merits,” Sims continued.

They have also noted that many of the concerns they identified in the adtech supply chain are similar to concerns in other digital platform markets, such as online search, social media, and app marketplaces. These markets are also dominated by one or two key providers, which benefit from vertical integration, leading to significant competition concerns. In many cases, these are compounded by a lack of transparency.

“We have identified systemic competition concerns relating to conduct over many years and multiple adtech services, including conduct that harms rivals. Investigation and enforcement proceedings under general competition laws are not well suited to deal with these sorts of broad concerns, and can take too long if anti-competitive harm is to be prevented,” Sims concluded.

Google has access to a large volume and range of first-party data gathered through its customer-facing services, such as Search, Maps, and YouTube. The extent to which Google uses its first-party data to advantage its adtech businesses is not clear and is a source of confusion among industry stakeholders.

The report also recommends that under the proposed new sector-specific rules, the ACCC be given the power to develop and implement special measures to address competition issues caused by an adtech provider’s data advantage, such as data separation or data access requirements to address the competition risks that may arise from the use of first-party data.

Singapore – Travel and leisure booking platform Klook has some good news for both its consumers and operators as it will now be expanding the presence of its partner destination brands with a new integration into Google’s ‘Things to do’. 

‘Things to do’ is Google’s display feature that allows consumers to discover, plan and compare prices across activities and attractions around the world. It also allows for the availability of products to be updated and booked in real-time through a partner’s website. 

The integration will now be part of Klook’s digital suite of offerings for travel operators which will enable them to operate as an official site listing on Google Things to do.

Klook’s CCO Wilfred Fan said that the new integration is part of Klook’s commitment to equip and support travel operators with advanced capabilities and tools to achieve online success.

“With the integration of Google Things to do, we continue to build on our strong momentum of digitizing the travel experiences sector and supporting the digital transformation of operators,” said Fan. 

The platform said that more than anything, the new digital offering is a big boost to online consumer engagement without having to do with sophisticated technological development efforts. Furthermore, Klook said that by leveraging the company’s proprietary digital solutions, operators will be able to manage their prices, ticketing, inventory management, and even marketing, while Klook manages the technology from API integration to payment enablement.

New Delhi, India – As India grapples with the virus, now having a record-high rate of daily cases in the world, Google has come to give support to its news ecosystem, with the launch of Google News Showcase.  

First launched in 2020, Google News Showcase helps participating publishers share their expertise and editorial voice through an enhanced storytelling experience. In addition, the experience lets readers dive deeper into more complex stories. It helps them stay informed on the issues and events that local, national, and global newsrooms highlight through their Google News Showcase panels.

Google News Showcase incentivizes and supports news publishers to curate high quality content on Google’s News and Discover platforms, connecting readers with the news they need.

Google News Showcase will rollout across 30 news publishers including The Hindu Group, HT Digital Streams Ltd, Indian Express Group, ABP LIVE, India TV, NDTV, Zee News, Amar Ujala, Deccan Herald, Punjab Kesari, The Telegraph India, IANS (Indo Asian News Service) and ANI.

In addition, English and Hindi news from the aforementioned publishers will show on the dedicated News Showcase panels in Google News and on Discover.

Google hopes in the near future to add more Indic languages to their News Showcase, as well as additional languages globally.

The launch is part of a global initiative by Google to support publishers that report on local or community news. To date, Google has signed in 700 news publications in more than a dozen countries, including Germany, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, the U.K. Australia, Czechia, Italy and Argentina.

In a joint statement, Brad Bender, VP for product management at Google News and Sanjay Gupta, vice president at Google India, stated that this initiative will help people find quality journalism, contribute to the sustainability of news organizations, and expand their programs under the Google News Initiative — enabling newsrooms to engage their readers in new and compelling ways through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

In addition to the News Showcase rollout, Google is also training 50,000 journalists and journalism students in the country for its News Lab initiative, where they will focus on digital tools to aid verification and combat misinformation online, as well as expanding their programs to connect Indian journalists and fact-checkers.

They will be also introducing several new programs to help small and mid-sized publications achieve financial sustainability – all part of the GNI Digital Growth Program, which has already trained executives at 100 Indian news organizations since launching last year. The new programs include: 

  • New business training workshops, delivered virtually, to help news organizations address the needs of their audiences, grow their readership and deepen reader engagement. These workshops will be available for free to Indian publishers, alongside Google’s existing workshops to support business success for news organizations. 
  • The GNI Advertising Lab, which includes training sessions and implementation support to help more than 800 small-sized Indian news organizations grow their digital ad revenue. 
  • The GNI Transformation Lab, a more comprehensive program for 20 local small and mid-sized Indian news organizations to help them succeed online.

Google has ramped up its news support in India back in 2018 when they first launched the GNI India Training Network, in partnership with BoomLive, DataLeads and Internews. The program has trained over 25,000 Indian journalists in-person or via virtual live workshops in 10 languages, touching 1,000+ news organizations and 700+ universities.

“The Indian news industry and its journalists have embraced technology to engage with readers and make data-driven decisions to improve their business and reporting efforts. We believe it’s important that digital platforms contribute to a sustainable, independent and diverse news ecosystem, working with journalists, news outlets and news associations. We’re proud to be strengthening our commitment at this critical time,” Google said in a press statement.

Singapore – Isentia, an APAC-based media intelligence and insights company, has adopted the speech-to-text technology of tech giant Google in order to provide real-time services to its business clients.

Through the integration, Isentia enables communications and media relations teams and organizations, relying on its range of AI-powered media intelligence products and capability, to manage reputations and opportunities in real-time. 

The technology feature automates the conversion of broadcasters’ speech to text. It matches words in text transcripts to the video player’s content, even during the prime time television news bulletins and current affairs shows, where the demand peaks ten times.

The broadcast results can be analyzed using the following features as well:

  • A boundary detection service that uses AI to identify when one news story ends, and the next begins, isolating relevant media items and giving clients immediate access to news segments relevant to them 
  • An ad filtering service that uses AI to identify and remove advertisements from automated broadcast monitoring 
  • A music filtering service that uses AI to remove the music that plays before or after many broadcast news items 

“Our monitoring goes far beyond cataloging mentions of brands or executive team members, to the supply of information about what people are saying about a business, industry, or interests in near real-time. That is extremely important because the value many of our clients gain is the ability to understand a trend or an event and respond quickly,” said Paul Russell, chief technology officer at Isentia.

With Google Cloud, Isentia deployed this new TV and radio broadcast solution within three months and planned to expand it to other languages, such as Chinese dialects, Malay, and Tagalog. 

“Isentia is delighted to be able to showcase world-class AI-driven improvements to our client deliveries courtesy of Google API’s and applications. The technology that sits behind the Isentia offer contains to lead the way in the industry,” said James Merritt, chief executive for Asia at Isentia.

He added, “The transition to Google Workplace was perfectly timed and saw a seamless transition. This helped Isentia to quickly and effectively adapt to the ways of working required to thrive during the pandemic and opened up new opportunities for productivity and collaboration.”

Singapore – Southeast Asia brands still see ad networks Google Ads and Facebook Ad Networks holding significant relevance in achieving retention among target consumers as well as in applying remarketing, a new report from mobile marketing analytics company AppsFlyer showed.

According to the report, Google Ads ranked number one when it comes to retention in Southeast Asia (SEA), while Facebook Ads fare better when delivering high-quality users from remarketing campaigns across Asia Pacific (APAC).

Google extended its lead over Facebook at the top of the index report, claiming first spot in all gaming and non-gaming categories, especially finance-based apps. Indonesia’s financial consultant app, Pendanaan Teknologi ranks third place in the overall finance-based apps in SEA, followed by Cashcash and Akulaku. 

Meanwhile, in all lifestyle non-gaming categories such as shopping, life, and culture, as well as social, Facebook ranked first in SEA, followed by Google Ads and Apple Search. 

As the report stated on the high index ranks of finance-based apps and well-known gaming apps, share of non-organic installs (NOI) on iOS dropped 17% in the second half of 2020 in Southeast Asia compared to the first half of the year, while NOI on Android saw the opposite effect — increasing by 9% in the same period. This is especially relevant in Southeast Asia, where AppsFlyer’s data from July to December 202 shows that Android users contribute 84% of organic installs, versus just 13% for iOS.

“2021 is going to be significantly different to previous years for marketers with end users enabling Limited Ad Tracking (LAT), and growing attention around user privacy alongside Apple’s privacy changes. iOS reliant networks and advertisers using them need to start thinking of active solutions to limit impact now,” said Beverly Chen, marketing director for APAC at AppsFlyer.

AppsFlyer also noted a 30% jump in the cost per install (CPI) on iOS in July to December 2020 which was a key factor behind the significant drop (Android cost increased by only 10%). As a result, mobile app marketers generated fewer installs for the same budget. The rise in media cost for iOS users was driven by two main elements: an increase in demand due to accelerated digital transformation caused by Covid-19, and a decrease in supply due to a 40% rise in the share of users who enabled Limited Ad Tracking (LAT). 

Other key insights noted in the report are TikTok Ads’ significant growth on iOS (+52% in its share of the pie). From 2019 to 2020, TikTok Ads recorded 82% more NOIs in APAC, climbing five spots in the global iOS gaming power ranking to reach an impressive 9 position from 14. Meanwhile, Unity Ads is still establishing its dominance in the gaming battleground, specifically in hypercasual gaming.