Online privacy has always been a hot topic, and thanks to quarantine restrictions that resulted in a doubling of the time people spent online, concerns about privacy have increased as well. In response, Apple has announced its new privacy policy called App Tracking Transparency (ATT) that will require developers to ask for permission when their apps use tracking data outside of their own apps. The new privacy prompt will be included in the release of iOS 14.5 (for your phone), iPadOS 14.5 and tvOS 14.5, which is scheduled to be released sometime this spring.
The new privacy feature allows you to accept or decline this data tracking, which follows your actions as you move from one app or website to another on your devices. This collected data is shared among companies, including advertising brokers to show you ads that are likely to be of interest to you based on those activities. For instance, you may visit a site and look at a pair of shoes, and then ads for those same shoes seem to pop up on every site you subsequently visit.
If you’ve ever wondered how that happens on your iPhone, here’s a simple explanation. Apple uses what it calls the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA), which is assigned by Apple to a user’s device. This identifier allows an installed app to track the user’s behavior across other companies’ apps, websites or offline properties for the purposes of ad targeting, personalization and measurement. An IDFA is similar to a third-party cookie in your browser, and tracks your interactions such as downloads, clicks and purchases. This data helps advertisers measure the effectiveness of their ads and, of course, drives advertising revenue for the app maker.
Currently, IDFA is turned on by default on Apple devices. The new prompt flips the setting to off by default and asks users to make the choice once they’ve downloaded the updated operating system. Currently, you can allow apps to ask to track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites, and then you have the option to decline tracking. However, Apple makes it clear in this setting that apps that don’t ask may still try to track your activity. With the updated IDFA option, Apple will be able to monitor any apps that ignore your preference. In beta testing, only about 10%-15% of users opt in to tracking.
The response to Apple’s change by other major tech companies has been mixed. The most negative reaction has come from Facebook. It has spent the last few months citing the potential harm to small businesses that will lead to less effective advertising and potentially lower revenues. Facebook has run full page newspaper ads in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and the Washington Post to rally opposition to Apple’s move. It claims iOS 14.5 privacy changes will “will change the internet as we know it,” and force websites and blogs “to start charging you subscription fees” or add in-app purchases due to a lack of personalized ads.
On the other side of the issue are Microsoft and Google. Earlier this month, Microsoft’s LinkedIn announced it would cease IDFA tracking. Google also said it would stop collecting this data in its own apps and acknowledged an increase in consumer privacy concerns. In a blog post, the company cited a Pew Research Center study that reported 72% of people feel that almost all of what they do online is being tracked by advertisers, technology firms or other companies, and 81% said that the potential risks they face because of data collection outweigh the benefits, according to a study by Pew Research Center.
Google also hinted at a new technology it is working on to make third party cookies obsolete, and went on to say that it wouldn’t replace them with any kind of unique identifiers, IDFA or similar. “This points to a future where there is no need to sacrifice relevant advertising and monetization in order to deliver a private and secure experience,” David Temkin, director of product management, ads privacy and trust for Google, wrote in a blog post earlier this month.
Sounds like a win-win for tech companies and consumers who may no longer have to sacrifice their online privacy to continue using apps for free.
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source https://abangtech.com/apples-upcoming-privacy-prompt-explained-business-standard-net-standard-examiner/
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