- Some iOS 14 users began to see instructions to ask for permission to track apps, which is a policy change that Apple announced earlier this year.
- The new privacy feature will be released early next year, but Apple may be testing the dialogs, as some users of the iOS 14.4 beta have already begun to see them.
- Many developers are not happy with the new policy, especially Facebook.
Apple is fulfilling its commitment to protecting users’ privacy by requiring developers to ask users for permission to track them for advertising purposes in applications and websites owned by other companies. Requests were expected to start appearing early next year, but some Apple device users saw the dialog box after installing the first iOS 14.4 beta last week, suggesting that the launch has already begun.
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An iPad owner in MacRumors the forums took a screenshot when his iPad with iOS 14.4 beta 1 asked him if he wanted to let the NBA app keep track of his online activity. “Your data will be used to provide you with a better, personalized advertising experience,” the application said. The user had two options: Ask the app not to track you or Allow.
Apple said for the first time that this privacy feature would be available alongside iOS 14 at launch, but after a cry from developers, Apple withdrew the release and explained that it wanted to “give developers the time they need to do the necessary changes and, as a result, the requirement to use this tracking permission will take effect early next year. “This would indicate that the applications that some users see are a test or a limited release. .
Facebook has been the most vocal detractor of politics, claiming that “it will have a detrimental impact on many small businesses struggling to stay afloat and on the free Internet that we all trust more than ever.” The company even ran a full-page ad The New York Times, The Washington Post, i The Wall Street Journal to exploit a policy, he says, “it will change the Internet as we know it, for the worse.”
Apple responded to criticism with a statement of its own last Wednesday, December 16:
We believe this is a simple matter of defending our users. Users should know when their data is being collected and shared among other apps and websites, and they should have the option to allow it or not. Transparency of app tracking in iOS 14 doesn’t require Facebook to change its approach to tracking users and creating specific advertising, it simply requires them to give users a choice.
If Facebook refuses to allow requests to be displayed on its apps, the app could be removed from the App Store. Facebook probably won’t allow this to happen, so it seems unlikely that anything will come out of their campaign.
Jacob began covering video games and technology in college as a hobby, but it quickly became clear to him that this was what he wanted to make a living from. He currently resides in New York writing for BGR. His previously published work can be found on TechHive, VentureBeat and Game Rant.