Mark Zuckerberg has said Apple's upcoming privacy changes could strengthen Facebook, after months-long PR campaign against them

• Mark Zuckerberg said Apple's upcoming privacy changes could put Facebook's commerce products in a "stronger position."
• The social media giant has been fighting Apple over the changes since August.
• The change will force developers to ask users' permission to track them for targeted advertising.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has struck a very different tone on Apple's imminent privacy changes - which will force the company to ask users' permission before giving their data to advertisers - claiming they could leave it in a "stronger position."

After months of the social media company fighting Apple over the changes, Zuckerberg told a discussion on Clubhouse on Thursday, "I think the reality is that I'm confident that we're gonna be able to manage through that situation. And we'll be in a good position. I think it's possible that we may even be in a stronger position."

Zuckerberg's words come after a public fight between Facebook and Apple over the upcoming changes that began last August when Facebook said the update could decimate part of its advertising business.

The changes on iOS14 are expected to roll out soon and will force app developers like Facebook to ask users for permission before tracking them via Apple's Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA).

In January, Zuckerberg said Apple had become one Facebook's "biggest competitors" and accused it of stifling competition under the guise of privacy protection.

Read more: Apple is about to roll out privacy changes, and advertisers worry they'll make it harder to tell if their ads are working

Speaking on Clubhouse, Zuckerberg said he now believed the changes could strengthen Facebook by encouraging sellers to go directly via Facebook's commerce products, as targeted advertising on the platform was rendered less effective.

"Apple's changes encourage more businesses to conduct commerce on our platforms, by making it harder for them to basically use their data in order to find the customers that would want to use their products outside of our platforms," he said.

"But the thing that I've been mostly focused on is that a lot of these changes are going to make it harder for small businesses and developers. And I think the situation is going to be challenging for them to navigate."

He added, "I just think it's one of the reasons why Facebook has been a bit outspoken on this is, there are certain principles that we care about and empowering individuals is one of them."

Facebook has consistently claimed the changes will hurt small business, in December going so far as to take out full-page newspaper ads saying, "We're standing up to Apple for small businesses everywhere."