Apple will ask apps to ask permission to track users starting with the next iOS 14 beta

Apple announced today that the transparency measure of the transparency tracking application will be required starting with the next beta versions of iOS 14, iPadOS 14 and tvOS 14. Apple says that the software updates will be released publicly in early spring.

The requirement was originally set to take effect in September last year, but Apple has been slow to give developers more time to prepare.

With this change, all iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV app developers will need to get permission from a user to track their work on other apps and websites and access the device’s random ad identifier, known as Identifier. for advertisers (IDFA), for recipients for advertising purposes, or to measure how effective their campaigns have been.

Users will receive a request with options for “Allow tracking” or “Ask the app not to track” when they open applications that want to track their activity. Developers have already managed to add the tracking prompt to their apps in previous versions of iOS 14, iPadOS 14 and tvOS 14, using the app’s transparency tracking framework, but it wasn’t necessary and few apps have implemented the prompt voluntarily.

If a user selects “Ask the app not to track,” Apple will block the app developer from accessing the user’s IDFA. The developer is also required to comply with the user’s tracking preferences in general, which means he can’t use other methods to track the user, otherwise their app could be removed from the App Store, according to Apple.

Users can manage their tracking preferences from one app to another in the Privacy Settings> Tracking app on iOS 14.

A handful of ad networks and companies have criticized Apple’s decision, including Facebook, which ran newspaper ads across the page and launched a website claiming that changing Apple’s tracking will financially affect small businesses.

“We don’t agree with Apple’s approach and solution, but we have no choice but to show Apple’s prompt,” Facebook said. “If we don’t, they will block Facebook from the App Store, which would affect more people and companies that rely on our services. We cannot take this risk on behalf of the millions of companies that use our platform to grow. “

The non-profit foundation Electronic Frontier called Facebook’s criticism “ridiculous,” arguing that Facebook’s campaign against Apple really refers to “what Facebook will lose if its users learn more about what they and other data brokers do behind the scenes.” ”. Firefox maker Mozilla also backed Apple’s decision, calling it a “huge consumer victory.”

Google has not publicly challenged Apple’s decision, but in a blog post yesterday, the company warned developers that it could see a “significant impact” on Google’s advertising revenue on iOS, once the application’s transparency requirement begins. Google also said it will stop collecting IDFAs in its iOS apps, so it won’t have to ask users for Apple’s tracking permission in those apps.

Apple’s position is that users deserve control and transparency.

“We think it’s a simple matter of being in favor of our users,” Apple said, adding that “users should know when their data is collected and shared between other apps and websites – and they should have whether or not to allow this. “

The Apple announcement is scheduled for Data Privacy Day. Apple celebrated the day by sharing “A Day in the Life of Your Data,” a PDF report that explains how third-party companies track user data on websites and apps, highlights Apple’s privacy principles, and provides more details about transparency. application tracking.

Apple CEO Tim Cook will speak today on data privacy at the Brussels-based Computers, Privacy and Data Protection conference. Cook is scheduled to speak at 8:15 a.m. Pacific Time, and a live stream will be available on YouTube.