App Tracking Transparency

With the launch of iOS 14.5, apps are no longer allowed to access the IDFA or tracking advertiser on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV without your express permission, keeping your app data more private. Apps use your IDFA to track you across different apps and websites, keeping tabs on your preferences and app usage habits. When an app wants to use your IDFA, you'll see a popup that says...

Amid Apple's planned privacy changes that will require app developers to ask for permission before tracking users for advertising purposes, European Commission VP Margrethe Vestager today warned Apple that it must treat all apps equally, including its own. In an interview with Reuters, Vestager said that if Apple is not treating its apps in the same way when it comes to the privacy...

With Apple's upcoming iOS 14 privacy changes looming, Snap on Thursday warned investors that they could hurt Snap's ad business (via Reuters). Starting with the next versions of iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and tvOS 14 due to be released in the early spring, Apple's App Tracking Transparency privacy measure will require all apps to request the user's permission to track their activity across other apps...

Starting with iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and tvOS 14.5, all of which are currently in beta testing, Apple will be requiring developers to receive a user's consent to track their activity across other apps and websites and/or access their device's random advertising identifier. Users will be presented with a prompt with options to "Allow Tracking" or "Ask App not to Track" when opening apps that wish...

Apple today published new App Store guideline updates for developers, tweaking many existing guidelines and adding a new rule pertaining to the App Tracking Transparency requirement in iOS 14.5. The new 5.1.2(i) rule related to App Tracking Transparency requires developers to ask for explicit permission before tracking user activity, something that Apple has been planning to implement since ...

In its ongoing feud with Apple regarding App Tracking Transparency, Facebook has announced that it will encourage users to allow tracking with "additional context" on a dedicated screen, according to an updated blog post. Image via Axios iOS 14's App Tracking Transparency feature will require developers to receive a user's consent to track their activity across apps and websites and access...

Facebook is preparing to launch a lawsuit against Apple for alleged anticompetitive behaviour, particularly regarding App Tracking Transparency and iMessage, according to The Information. The antitrust lawsuit would contend that Apple has abused its power in the smartphone industry by enforcing App Store rules that Apple itself supposedly does not have to follow. Within this, the case...

Apple today announced that its App Tracking Transparency privacy measure will be required starting with the next beta versions of iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and tvOS 14. Apple says the software updates will be publicly released in the early spring. The requirement was originally set to go into effect last September, but Apple delayed to provide developers with more time to prepare. With this...

Facebook today shared its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2020, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's opening remarks were focused on Apple's upcoming anti-tracking privacy changes that will impact the advertising industry and companies like Facebook that rely heavily on online advertising. As highlighted by The Washington Post, Zuckerberg claimed that Apple is changing its privacy policy...

Apple will soon require iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV app developers to request permission from users to collect their random advertising identifier (known as the "Identifier for Advertisers" or "IDFA"), which advertisers use to deliver personalized ads and track how effective their ad campaigns were. Specifically, users will be presented with a prompt to allow or deny tracking as necessary when...

As a privacy measure, Apple will be requiring developers of iPhone and iPad apps to request permission from users to track their activity across other apps and websites for personalized advertising purposes starting early next year. Ahead of time, the prompt for users to allow or deny tracking has started to show up in the first beta of iOS 14.4, seeded last week. A screenshot shared in the...

Amid a barrage of public attacks on Apple from Facebook over privacy measures, Facebook employees have expressed their displeasure with the direction of the campaign in comments obtained by BuzzFeed News. Last week, Facebook launched a campaign in print newspapers explaining that it was "standing up to Apple for small businesses everywhere," and created a website encouraging people to "Spea...

Facebook's recent criticism directed at Apple over an upcoming tracking-related privacy measure is "laughable," according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a non-profit organization that defends civil liberties in the digital world. Facebook has claimed that Apple's new opt-in tracking policy will hurt small businesses who benefit from personalized advertising, but the EFF...

Facebook has expressed additional criticism towards Apple over an upcoming iOS 14 privacy measure that will require users to grant permission for their activity to be tracked for personalized advertising purposes. For the second consecutive day, Facebook is running a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post that claims Apple's tracking change will...

Apple has responded to Facebook's criticism over an upcoming iOS 14 privacy measure — specifically a change that will require users to grant permission for their activity to be tracked for personalized advertising purposes starting early next year. In a statement provided to MacRumors, Apple said "we believe that this is a simple matter of standing up for our users," adding that "users...

Facebook today in a blog post claimed that Apple's upcoming anti-tracking privacy-focused change in iOS 14 will have a "harmful impact on many small businesses that are struggling to stay afloat and on the free internet that we all rely on more than ever." Facebook has also launched a "Speak Up For Small Business" page. "We disagree with Apple's approach and solution, yet we have no choice...

Facebook has today attacked Apple in a series of full-page newspaper ads, asserting that iOS 14's privacy changes regarding data gathering and targeted advertising are bad for small businesses (via Bloomberg). The ads are running in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post, feature the headline "We're standing up to Apple for small businesses everywhere." Image via Dave ...

Starting early next year, iOS 14 will require apps to get opt-in permission from users to collect their random advertising identifier, which advertisers use to deliver personalized ads and track how effective their campaigns were. This new requirement was actually set to go into effect by the end of 2020, but Apple delayed the introduction of the prompt until early 2021 to provide developers ...

Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi has warned developers to "play by the rules" as they relate to Apple's upcoming anti-tracking policy for iOS 14, or their apps could be removed from the App Store. Starting early next year, iOS 14 will require apps to get opt-in permission from users to collect their random advertising identifier, which advertisers use to deliver...

Following Apple's confirmation that it still plans to introduce a new App Tracking Transparency feature that will let users know when companies want to track them across apps and websites, which has attracted criticism from companies such as Facebook, Craig Federighi has explained more about the rationale behind the change to The Independent. The App Tracking Transparency feature allows...

Apple in iOS 14 is planning to introduce a new App Tracking Transparency feature that will let users know when companies want to track them across apps and website. Following outcry from developers like Facebook and ad networks unprepared for the change, Apple delayed the implementation of the anti-tracking functionality until early 2021. Eight civil society organizations recently sent a...