| Hey y'all, it's Austin. Many app developers are warning that a change to Apple Inc.'s data-collection rules could clobber their businesses. For some reason, they can't help but praise Apple for it. Snap Inc. said last week that the upcoming restrictions on iPhone software may slow Snapchat's momentum and interrupt advertising demand. Then it sent a message of love to Cupertino, California. "When it comes to some of the policy changes that Apple is making, we really think of them as high-integrity folks," Snap Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel said on a conference call with analysts Thursday. "We're happy to see them making the right decision for their customers." Unity Software Inc., which makes tools for video game makers, said Apple's changes will reduce revenue this year by $30 million, or 3% of overall sales. Unity CEO John Riccitiello, whose main competitor, Epic Games Inc., is suing Apple claiming anticompetitive practices, spent almost as much time explaining the sales hit as he did complimenting Apple's growth. He reminisced about the inventiveness of Steve Jobs and marveled at how the release of the iPhone 12 was "orders of magnitude bigger than console launches." The conciliatory tone may sound dissonant, but it's a common tact from software makers, many of whom depend on Apple for huge swaths of revenue. During interviews with developers in recent weeks, several have gone out of their way to gush about how much they love the Apple brand and even the CEO, Tim Cook, seemingly to soften their complaints that some app-store practices are unfair. One big issue surrounds Apple's unique iPhone tracking codes, called Identification for Advertisers, which help developers track users and tailor ads to their interests. Apple has promised an update for its mobile operating system that will explicitly ask customers to grant permission to each app seeking to collect their data. The opt-in system is proving disruptive to business models that rely on these kinds of mobile internet cookies. The impacts will be far-reaching, recent disclosures show. The dating app maker Bumble Inc. acknowledged in its filing for an initial public offering last month that it expects fewer than a fifth of users to opt in, a rate that would significantly hamper the effectiveness of targeted ads. Pinterest Inc.'s finance chief, Todd Morgenfeld, warned investors three times Thursday of business "headwinds" related to Apple's new rules. The number of tech leaders who have come out vocally against Apple is far fewer than those adversely affected by their policies. Epic is part of a coalition of developers, which also includes Spotify Technology SA, going after Apple's rules. A chief critic is Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has said Apple is being self-serving by implementing sweeping rules, using them as a means to harm rivals under the banner of privacy. "Apple may say that they're doing this to help people, but the moves clearly track their competitive interests," Zuckerberg said. Few software makers can afford to alienate Apple. Further complicating things, Cook's message has been popular with consumers. He has called privacy a "human right" and slammed tech companies that engage in "data exploitation." That could explain why Snap executives couldn't stop commending Apple for smashing a brick through its advertising business. "The reality is we admire Apple, and we believe that they are trying to do the right thing for their customers," Jeremi Gorman, Snap's chief business officer, said last week. "Their focus on protecting privacy is aligned with our values and the way we've built our business from the very beginning. Overall, we feel really well-prepared for these changes." And by the way, she added: "Changes to this ecosystem are usually disruptive, and the outcome is uncertain." —Austin Carr | 
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