Apple executive talks iOS 14.5 app tracking transparency: "Users should and need to control" data

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April 27 news With the release of iOS 14.5, Apple began to enforce its app tracking transparency rules. Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal interviewed Craig Federighi, Apple's head of software engineering, about the purpose of the feature and how it works.

App Tracking Transparency requires app developers to obtain explicit permission from users before accessing their advertising identifiers for ad tracking purposes.

According to Federighi, Apple wants users to have choices about when and how they are tracked and how their data is used: "These devices are such an intimate part of our lives and contain so much information about what we think, where we go and who we are with, that users should and need to have control over that information." He added: "The abuses can range from the creepy to the dangerous."

Stern also spoke with Facebook's vice president of ads and commerce product marketing, who said that because of Apple's lack of explanation, people are opting out of ads "without understanding the impact." He said Facebook is concerned that people will opt out because of this prompt, leading to "more paywalls" on the internet, where small businesses can't reach their customers.

Facebook has been continuously fighting against the app tracking transparency changes in iOS 14.5, claiming that Apple is anti-small business and is even going so far as to cancel newspaper advertising. Federighi said Apple is not surprised by the pushback from companies like Facebook, but "believes it's the right thing to do." He said the delay in implementation (originally scheduled for a few months ago) was not due to opposition from other companies, but because Apple wanted to give developers time to adapt to the changes.

When a user refuses to allow an app to access the IFDA of an iPhone, iPad or Apple TV, app developers are also blocked from using other means to create a user profile with device data and usage habits. App developers found trying to use covert tracking methods will violate Apple's rules. Developers who don't follow the guidelines "may not be able to provide updates, or their apps may even be removed from the store," Federighi said.

Users can turn off tracking altogether under Tracking in the Privacy section of the Settings app, or ask apps on a case-by-case basis.