You’ve probably seen information about the dispute between Apple and Facebook about App Tracking Transparency (ATT). ATT is a technology Apple released in iOS 14.5. ATT helps protect your online privacy.
Take Action for Online Privacy
If you are concerned about your privacy, you’ll want to take action on this!
ATT gives iPhone and iPad users more control over how app makers can track their data and activities across apps and websites owned by other companies. Before App Tracking Transparency, companies culled and connected a vast amount of data about your everyday activities. They built an insanely detailed picture of who you are and what you do.
Apple wrote A Day in the Life of Your Data, a white paper, and released the Tracked TV ad to give you a sense of how apps track you. Think of App tracking as being a fleet of tiny drones constantly hovering over your head and recording your every waking moment for their corporate masters.
Facebook Invades Your Online Privacy
Facebook is particularly perturbed by the introduction of App Tracking Transparency. You cannot blame them! The company makes billions of dollars every year by gleaning as much as it can about you to sell to other companies.
For instance, Facebook knows if you’re an Atlanta lawyer and divorced mother of two who loves dogs, donates to the Sierra Club and has Crohn’s disease. App Tracking Transparency won’t prevent Facebook from tracking your behavior across its own apps. However, at least it won’t be able to track you across other companies’ apps and websites.
Once you upgrade to the latest version of iOS and iPadOS, App Tracking Transparency requires that apps ask for permission to track you. However, depending on your current privacy settings, you may never see those requests.
Manage Your Online Privacy Easily in Apple’s Latest Update
In Settings > Privacy > Tracking, if Allow Apps to Request to Track is turned off, you won’t receive any permission requests, and apps won’t be able to track you. Turn that setting on, and you’ll start getting alerts that ask for permission.
You Control Your Online Privacy with ATT
Put bluntly, there is absolutely no reason to allow any app to track you. Apple explicitly says that apps may not withhold features from those who opt out of tracking. If you turn on the Allow Apps to Request to Track setting, tap Ask App Not to Track whenever it prompts you to do so. If you accidentally tap Allow, you can always go back to Settings > Privacy > Tracking and turn off the switch to rescind permission.
You might want to enable Allow Apps to Request to Track to see which apps were likely violating your privacy. Frankly, we encourage you to think about whether you want to use apps from such companies. Perhaps the best reason to allow the requests is to identify privacy-abusing apps that you’ll then delete.
Early statistics from analytics company Flurry suggest that 94%–96% of users in the United States have opted out of app tracking, either by tapping Ask App Not to Track or by disabling the Allow Apps to Request to Track. We’re surprised the number is so low.
About arobasegroup
arobasegroup has been consulting with clients and advising the best use of Apple Technology since 1998. We listen to our customers and solve problems by addressing their specific, unique needs; we never rely on a one-size-fits-all solution or require them to use a specific product. arobasegroup is your advocate in all things related to information technology. Contact us to learn how we can help: info@arobasegroup.com.
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(Featured image by Glen Carrie on Unsplash)