Apple’s new privacy feature that requires developers to ask for permission to track iOS users for ad targeting is finally going live on the next iOS 14 beta with a full release planned sometime this spring for non-beta users, the company says The Verge.
The announcement coincides with Data Privacy Day, as well as a privacy speech by Apple CEO Tim Cook today at the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection conference in Brussels. Apple initially planned the feature to go live with the release of iOS 14 last fall, but postponed its implementation to 2021 in September last year to give developers more time to comply. Today’s announcement narrows the launch window for this spring, but Apple is no longer commenting on when exactly we can see the launch for everyone.
Called App Tracking Transparency, the new opt-in requirement will mark a significant change in the way mobile app developers can collect data about iPhone owners and share that data with other companies to aid advertising. Before the move, Apple allowed iPhone owners to research their settings to disable this type of tracking. Now, instead of forcing users to be proactive about how to disable it, Apple will require developers to ask for permission or risk suspension or removal from the App Store if they fail to comply or attempt to circumvent the rules.
The main way that advertisers are able to, say, know when you are buying a new hat in one app before showing ads for that same hat in another app is through a unique identification code, called the Advertiser Identifier ( IDFA), is linked to your device, collected by the first application and shared with the second. This allows these applications to display targeted ads and assess whether the ad really worked, for example, if you ended up buying that hat you saw in an Instagram ad by clicking on an ad from the company’s online store on Google Chrome.
Apple’s new opt-in requirement will give developers express consent from iOS device owners to allow their IDFA to be collected and shared between applications. App manufacturers may still use other information that you provide for advertising purposes, even if you choose not to allow the app to track you, but that information cannot be shared with another company for the purpose of tracking ads according to Apple’s new policy. Sharing with other third-party companies is effectively what Apple refers to when it uses the word “tracking”.
Apple intends to strictly police any attempt to circumvent the opt-in requirement. For example, he says that application developers will not be allowed to disable application functionality of any kind if users decline the option, and that developers will also be prevented from charging money or encouraging users with in-app benefits or gifts. to influence your decision in one way or another. Any application that attempts to replace IDFA with other identifying information, such as an email address, will be in violation of the opt-in requirement.
Apple says the rules also apply to its own apps, and the company already allows users to disable personalized advertising the company offers on the App Store, Apple News and the Stocks app using data it collects from their device. (It’s important to note that ad personalization is not the same as ad tracking, and mobile app companies can still personalize ads, as long as they can advertise it with an App Store privacy label.) Apple has no sharing history of the information it collects with other companies, too, and makes that clear in its alternating ad customization in iOS settings.
This is expected to affect both companies that run ad networks, such as Facebook, and companies that pay for ads, such as the aforementioned unnamed hat seller. That’s exactly why Facebook has arguably become the biggest opponent of Apple’s new privacy measures, which include not only this new opt-in requirement, but also app privacy labels launched on the App Store last month.
Facebook has positioned itself as a champion of small businesses that are at risk of being harmed by this privacy change, and small businesses rely on Facebook’s ad network and its powerful targeting tools to reach customers. Previous privacy changes in Apple’s Safari mobile browser have also had legitimate negative consequences for companies with ad support, such as news sites. (The Verge is a news site with ads.)
But in full-page newspaper ads and press statements, Facebook took it a step further and classified Apple as a hypocrite trying to exempt itself from the rules it imposes on other developers and as greedy for encouraging application business models that depend less on advertising and more in subscriptions, of which Apple would theoretically receive a share.
“Apple has every incentive to use its dominant position on the platform to interfere with the way our apps and other apps work, which they regularly do to prefer their own,” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a conference call. results on Wednesday. “This impacts the growth of millions of companies worldwide, including with the upcoming changes to iOS 14.” Zuckerberg added that “Apple can say that it is doing this to help people, but the movements clearly track the interests of its competitors.”
Apple has consistently defended its choice as a way to give users more freedom over their privacy and has refuted Facebook’s claims that it intends to keep its original software at different standards. The confrontation has emerged as one of the biggest and most visible feuds of technology companies in recent memory, although it is now clear that Facebook has little or no influence on the situation, despite its defensive and public attitude. Changes are imminent, and Facebook will be forced to comply with privacy rules last month.
To further emphasize its privacy philosophy, Apple has created a new online guide that it calls “A Day in the Life of Your Data”, which analyzes common ad tracking and targeting practices in the mobile and web app industries and presents statistics on the prevalence of these practices. Apple says the average mobile app contains six trackers that share its data with other apps, and that “a large, opaque industry has accumulated increasing amounts of personal data”.
“A complex ecosystem of websites, applications, social media companies, data brokers and advertising technology companies tracks users online and offline, collecting their personal data. These data are gathered, shared, aggregated and monetized, feeding an industry of US $ 227 billion per year ”, says the guide. “It happens every day, as people live their daily lives, often without their knowledge or permission.”