Facebook has heavily criticized Apple’s anti-tracking changes in iOS 14, even going ahead and publishing full-page newspaper ads about it. The company was reportedly even preparing a lawsuit against Apple for the upcoming privacy changes. However, Mark Zuckerberg now believes that Facebook could benefit from iOS 14’s App Tracking Transparency changes.

In a Clubhouse room, Zuckerberg said that the company will be “in a good position” and “manage through” iOS 14’s anti-tracking changes. He believes that the changes could benefit Facebook if more businesses sell goods directly on Facebook or Instagram.

“It’s possible that we may even be in a stronger position if Apple’s changes encourage more businesses to conduct more commerce on our platforms by making it harder for them to use their data in order to find the customers that would want to use their products outside of our platforms.”

This is the first time that Zuckerberg has had something positive to say about iOS 14’s anti-tracking changes. Apple will roll out App Tracking Transparency to the public with the release of iOS 14.5. The privacy changes will require that apps ask for the user’s explicit permission before accessing their advertising identifier (IDFA). This IDFA will then be used to track users across apps and websites for personalized ads.

The implementation of App Tracking Transparency is expected to affect advertisers and their ad revenues greatly. They will also be unable to track when a user did not click on an ad but ended up buying the displayed product later on. These metrics are important for Facebook and other advertisers as it helps them gauge the displayed ads’ success.

Facebook has been preparing for iOS 14’s App Tracking Transparency changes by rolling out Facebook Shops and Instagram Shops. Both platforms allow brands to sell products directly to consumers.