By What happening with iOS 15 from Apple?
Apple is releasing an update for iOS that can cause images to be loaded prior to a subscriber’s actual open time. This may affect the accuracy of some images and therefore we are giving all clients an option to show an alternative image, or 1×1 transparent pixel if they’d like. This will not affect all image types, but we do anticipate timers and rules based on dates to be not as accurate on iOS. While some clients may not have an issue with timers being slightly off, this option will give those that do another option.
How often will the images update on iOS devices?
This is unknown as images have been seen to update at intervals of 15 minutes and up to 2 days. We hope to have more details once the update is in place and will update our blog as well as image options to help in any way we can.
When will this change take place?
iOS was released on September 20th, 2021. This update is not automated and will require each user to update their operating system in order to affect their images.
What are my options?
You can continue to show any NiftyImages that you have created as most will not be affect, or you can choose to display a Backup Image or Transparent Pixel.
Images that don’t require up to the minute updates will still show for all subscribers, including Personalized Images, Personalized Charts, Rule Set images not using dates, images using Data Sources that aren’t showing up-to-the-second data and A/B Split tests.
For images that update from an API we now offer a TimeStamp merge tag layer that can be used in your images. This can ensure that the subscribers know when the most recent data for this image was updated.
Images such as Maps will still work by passing in a location(ZIP/Postal Code) for each subscriber.
What devices will be considered iOS?
We are currently detecting the user agent Mozilla/5.0 that is being used by devices with the iOS 15 update.
Will opens be counted for Backup Images and Transparent Pixels?
Accounts will not be charged when using either of these two options. Subscribers not using iOS will still see the NiftyImages you’ve designed and those detected for the iOS update will see the Backup Image or Transparent Pixel at no cost to you.
Will we be charged for opens that are not viewed by susbcribers?
You will be charged for opens that display your NiftyImages as we are not able to detect who is and who is not opening each image. With the option to show a backup image or transparent pixel at not charge for iOS, this can be decided on a per image basis. While we do not know exactly how often images will be opened or shown by iOS devices, we will monitor and adjust our pricing if need be based on numbers reported in the coming weeks.