In honor of World Data Privacy Day on January 28, Apple announced the upcoming launch of App Tracking Transparency in a press release. At the same time, it released a report titled "A Day in the Life of Your Data."
Apple has revisited the topic of data privacy in a new press release. Apple's Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, stated that Apple's goal is to "create technology that keeps people's data safe and secure." The statement reads:
“A Day in the Life of Your Data”
Privacy means peace of mind, it means security, and it means being in control of your data. Our goal is to build technologies that keep people's data safe and secure. We believe privacy is a fundamental human right, and our teams work every day to embed this in everything we build.
Apple explains that the new report, "A Day in the Life of Your Data," is intended to help users "better understand how third parties track their information across apps and websites." It also highlights how Apple is working to make tracking more transparent and give users more control. The new report, which can be found on Apple's website (link here and at the end of the article), also includes new details about Apple's upcoming App Tracking Transparency feature in the form of an FAQ page. For those who aren't familiar with it, here's a reminder. App Tracking Transparency is a new feature that requires apps to get permission from users before tracking them across other apps and websites.
App tracking transparency: developers must follow rules
In Settings, users can also see which apps have requested tracking permission, allowing them to make changes as they see fit. Once this requirement takes effect, users will, for example, see a pop-up when they open the Facebook app. This message states that Facebook wants to track the user across other apps and websites. Users will have two options to choose from: "Do Not Track" or "Allow." This feature has already caused some discontent at Facebook. In the "A Day in the Life of Your Data" report, Apple provides an interesting insight into how the feature actually works. Among other things, the FAQ explains the following:
- App developers cannot require users to allow tracking in order to use the full functionality of the app.
- If users select “Do Not Track,” the developer cannot access the System Advertising Identifier (IDFA), which is often used for tracking.
- If we learn that a developer is tracking users who request not to be tracked, we will require that they update their practices to respect your choices or their app may be removed from the App Store.
App Tracking Transparency: Will it be introduced in iOS 14.5?
According to Apple, the feature will be a permanent part of the next beta versions. It can therefore be assumed that App Tracking Transparency will be introduced in iOS 14.5. Specifically, the section states:
Starting with the next beta versions of Apple's software, "App Tracking Transparency" will require apps to obtain user permission before tracking their data across other companies' apps or websites. Users can then see which apps have requested tracking permission in Settings and make changes as they see fit.
Originally it was speculated that the feature would be iOS 14.4 starts – at least corresponding clues have been discovered. If you want to see the full press release in German, you can find it here. Click here for “A Day in the Life of Your Data”report. (Image: Apple)
