Apple is releasing a long-awaited iOS privacy feature. iPhone and iPad users will be prompted to opt out of monitoring in applications that record their activity and share the data with third parties in the new version of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 14.5.
This new update is a big step forward for consumer privacy because it allows users more control over their mobile app data and how companies like Facebook and Google use it to target advertising. Simultaneously, the decision has enraged app developers and tech firms who have relied on the consumer data reservoir for years and fear being cut off from it in the near future.
The most noticeable change with the launch of the new privacy tool, Data Tracking Transparency, is a pop-up that appears when you open a tracking app.
Since 2012, iOS apps have used an Identifier for Advertising (IDFA) to perform cross-platform monitoring through several websites and apps. This identifier is typically collected by apps so that they can link information about the user gathered via the app to information about the user gathered elsewhere, such as on the web, in order to better target advertising. Prior to version 14.5, Apple mobile users could restrict ad tracking through toggles hidden deep within the software’s settings, but the latest update prompts users to approve or reject ad tracking for each app.
However, with the App Monitoring Transparency feature, apps would require users’ permission to access their IDFA before tracking, which may include collecting user data to sell to data brokers or connecting a user’s app data with third-party data to target ads. Apple has stated that the new regulations would have an effect on other app procedures, such as exchanging location data with data brokers and introducing hidden trackers for ad analytics. When the latest app monitoring transparency feature goes live, some ad industry analysts suggest a significant number of users will opt out of tracking.
The iOS 14.5 software update is widely regarded as a significant victory for user privacy, and it is intended to offer iPhone users a much better understanding of the types of monitoring that occurs on their devices (privacy advocates were disappointed that the tool hadn’t been released sooner). Although Apple users used to have some influence over ad monitoring, it’s now easier than ever for them to opt out.
“They’ll see a simple pop-up that basically asks if they’re okay with being monitored or not,” says the author. If they are, things move on,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said earlier this month in an interview with Kara Swisher. “If they aren’t, then tracking for that particular app has been disabled for that individual.”
At the same time, other technology companies that rely on this data to help their web advertisement businesses have been irritated by this new Apple feature. Following the launch of Apple’s latest privacy features, Google has made a range of updates to its ad systems. As a result of the update, Facebook and Apple have had a very public spat. Facebook has been running a months-long marketing campaign alleging that Apple’s reforms would affect small businesses’ personalized advertising. If many Facebook users opt out, the move is more likely to harm the business.
