Apple now rejects app updates that defy iOS 14.5 app tracking transparency rules

Apple has started rejecting updates for apps that don’t comply with the company’s application tracking transparency rules the company enforces starting with iOS 14.5, according to a new report from Forbes.

Apps must request permission to access a user’s iPhone ad ID or IDFA in order to track them through apps for ad targeting purposes, a rule that apps will need to follow. when launching iOS 14.5. The rule also prevents apps from using other bypass methods to track users, which is already causing problems for some developers.

Several applications have been rejected so far, with Forbes listing Heetch, Radish Fiction, InnoGames, etc. Developers who see app denials receive the following message: “Your app is using algorithmically converted device and usage data to create a unique identifier in order to track the user,” the message also listing the data collected. .

Mobile marketing analyst Eric Seufert said an SDK from mobile measurement company Adjust is at fault because of the data it collects for device fingerprinting. Adjust, which is installed in more than 50,000 applications, says it “maximizes the impact” of mobile marketing.

Apple blocks applications that use fingerprinting techniques to collect data for the purpose of creating a profile of a user that allows the user to be tracked even without an advertising ID. Data collection uses metrics like software version, time since last update, time since last restart, charge level, battery status, etc. to identify individual users.

Apple’s position is that if a customer has opted out of using IDFA for ad tracking, that user has opted out of other tracking methods as well. Apple’s App Store rules state that app developers cannot collect data from a device for the purpose of identifying it, and developers are responsible for all tracking codes in their applications, including the third-party SDKs they use.

Adjust has now updated its SDK to remove code that accesses data such as processor type, phone memory, charge status, and battery level, so apps that have been rejected for using Adjust may be able to have their updates green after installing the new Adjust SDK.

It’s still unclear when Apple plans to release iOS 14.5, but we’ve had six betas so far and the software should be available to the public in the spring. With the application tracking transparency rules starting to apply for updates, there’s a possibility that Apple is gearing up for the software launch, so we might see it make its debut in the near future.