Apple confirms commitment to transparency in app tracking in letter condemning Facebook’s data collection

Apple in iOS 14 plans to introduce a new app tracking transparency feature that will let users know when businesses want to track them across apps and the website. Following outcry from developers like Facebook and ad networks unprepared for the change, Apple has delayed the implementation of the anti-tracking feature until early 2021.

Eight civil society organizations recently sent a letter [PDF] to Apple expressing disappointment at the feature’s delay, and Apple today wrote a clearly worded response confirming its commitment to App Tracking Transparency.

Apple is also concerned about tracking users without their consent and having their data aggregated and resold by ad networks. According to Apple, tracking apps and websites owned by multiple companies and data sold by data brokers can be “invasive and” scary. “

Too often, information about you is collected on a company-owned app or website and combined with information collected separately by other companies for targeted advertising and advertising measures. Sometimes your data is even aggregated and resold by data brokers, which are third parties that you do not know and do not interact with.

Facebook and other ad networks have complained that Apple’s anti-tracking efforts are anti-competitive and will impact small businesses. Apple says it is not against reasonable collection of user data, but wants to empower customers to make their own choices about what data is collected and how it is used.

In a statement that appears to directly target Facebook’s complaint about the impact on small businesses, Apple says privacy-friendly advertising was the norm before the growth of the Internet.

Advertising that respects privacy is not only possible, it was the norm until the growth of the Internet. Some companies who would prefer ATT never be implemented have said that this policy only weighs on small businesses by limiting advertising options, but in fact the current data arms race mainly benefits large companies with sets of data. big data. Privacy-driven ad networks were the universal standard in advertising before the practice of unhindered data collection began in the past decade.

Apple directly refers to Facebook’s advertising practices later in the letter after highlighting its own privacy-focused policies.

In contrast, Facebook and others take a very different approach to targeting. Not only do they allow users to be grouped into smaller segments, but they use detailed data about online browsing activity to target ads. Facebook executives have made it clear that their intention is to collect as much data as possible on proprietary and third-party products to develop and monetize their users’ detailed profiles, and this disregard for user privacy continues to expand. to include more of their products.

Apple’s full letter is available below, and the missive ends with a statement that Apple is eager to implement the application tracking transparency feature. However, there is no timeline for the rollout of the feature.

Apple Letter on App Trackin … by MacRumors