Apple has started rejecting app updates that do not comply with the new app tracking transparency rules the company plans to introduce with iOS 14.5.
Applications will now have to ask for permission to access a user's iPhone advertising identifier, or IDFA, to track them across apps for ad targeting, a rule that apps will have to comply with with the launch of iOS 14.5. The rule also prevents apps from using other workarounds for tracking users. This is now getting some developers in trouble, as Forbes reports reported. Developers whose app updates were rejected will receive the following message:
Your app uses algorithmically transformed device and usage data to create a unique identifier to track the user.
Apple rejects fingerprinting techniques
The news also lists the data that is actually collected. Eric Seufert, mobile marketing analyst, said an SDK from mobile measurement company Adjust is to blame because of the data it collects for fingerprinting devices. Adjust, which is installed in more than 50,000 apps, says it "maximizes the impact" of mobile marketing. Apple is now rejecting apps that use fingerprinting techniques to collect data to create a profile of a user that allows the user to be tracked even without advertising labels. The data collection uses metrics such as software version, time since last update, time since last reboot, charge level, battery status and more to identify individual users.
When will iOS 14.5 be released for all users?
Apple's App Store guidelines state that app developers cannot collect data from a device if users opt out in order to identify it, and that developers are responsible for all tracking code in their apps, including any third-party SDKs they use. Adjust has now updated its SDK to remove code that accesses data such as CPU type, phone memory, charging status, and battery level, so apps that were rejected for using Adjust may get the green light for their updates after installing the new Adjust SDK. It is currently unknown when Apple will release iOS 14.5 to all users worldwide, but it is expected that the update will be released sometime in April. At least the App Store Review Team has already started cleaning up. (Photo by Denys Prykhodov / Bigstockphoto)
