This article may contain affiliate links. Learn more on our Partner Program page.
Apple is facing increasing pressure to tighten its app tracking transparency rules after third-party developers were found to be using workarounds to identify users who do not consent to being tracked, according to a new report.
Apple's App Tracking Transparency rules, which went into effect with iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5, require apps to obtain consent to track users across websites and apps. According to Eric Seufert, a marketing strategy consultant (via Financial Times), many apps use workaround methods to identify users who do not consent to tracking, meaning the amount of data collected from many users remains virtually unchanged. According to an email seen by the Financial Times, one app provider told its customers that it had managed to continue collecting data on more than 95 percent of iOS users by using device and network information such as IP addresses to determine users' identities. This secretive technique, known as "fingerprinting," is banned by Apple.
Cupertino: “We firmly believe that users should be asked for their permission”
Some adtech groups, used by thousands of developers, believe that looser "probabilistic" methods of user identification, which group users based on their behavior, are permitted under Apple's rules because they rely on temporary, aggregated data rather than creating unique or permanent device IDs. The situation regarding workarounds and Apple's lack of enforcement has led to confusion about what Apple's rules actually allow. Apple explained to the Financial Times:
We strongly believe that users should be asked for their permission before being tracked, and apps found to violate the user's choice will be rejected.
Apple declined to comment on whether its rules distinguish between fingerprinting and "probabilistic matching." Some industry observers believe the problem is so serious that Apple faces legal challenges. Alex Austin, managing director of Branch, a mobile marketing platform, said:
It's becoming increasingly clear that iOS 14 was much more of a marketing stunt than an actual privacy initiative, unfortunately.
Apple has indicated that it will block third-party tracking if users ask them to stop. But if it doesn't, Apple could find itself at the center of a legal battle over marketing rhetoric and reality. Yale Privacy Lab founder Sean O'Brien accused Apple of being "extremely disingenuous" in touting its privacy measures without adequately enforcing them.
Apple could provide more clarity during the Worldwide Developers Conference
Apple may find this out the hard way, as Google has in the past, when the company faces lawsuits for misleading customers about privacy. Just as it was discovered in 2018 that Google's location history was never actually turned off, I think we'll find that Apple still allows apps to look into the windows of consumers' lives.
O'Brien highlighted a settlement with Google, which faced a series of lawsuits after it was discovered that it had been tracking its users' locations even after they had explicitly forbidden it. Seufert believes Apple is likely to provide clarity on the matter soon, which could coincide with its Worldwide Developers Conference, leading to a potential wave of app rejections during the review process later this month for those developers secretly using tracking techniques. (Photo by manae / Bigstockphoto)
