Mobile ad companies form alliance to prepare for Apple privacy changes

Six mobile advertising companies said Wednesday they have formed a partnership to help marketers and app developers adjust to upcoming Apple Inc changes that will affect how advertising works on iPhones.

Apple will soon begin to prompt iPhone users to allow apps to use their data for personalized advertising, a move that has drawn backlash from tech rival Facebook Inc, which argues the changes will hurt the social media company's ad business.

The Post-IDFA Alliance will provide tips and best practices to help advertisers and developers ensure ads are placed in front of relevant consumers and the effectiveness of those ads can still be measured after the Apple changes are rolled out, said Mark Ellis, chief executive of mobile marketing company Liftoff, which is part of the alliance.

That will include videos, webinars, and other materials on topics such as understanding what data can be used in an "Apple-friendly manner," Ellis said.

The new partnership also includes Fyber, Chartboost, Singular, InMobi and Vungle, which are companies that specialize in mobile advertising.