How to Hide From Advertisers With the New App Tracking Transparency Settings in IOS 14.5
One of the features of the iOS 14 header – that it makes headlines annoying advertisers – is App Tracking Transparency, an option that allows users to opt out of any tracking, including data that an app collects when you’re not using it. much to the chagrin of ad platforms like Google and Facebook).
We’ve previously covered how App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 improves user privacy , but the recent iOS 14.5 update makes this feature even better by adding new settings that allow you to change the tracking permissions for each app you install.
How to use App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14.5
You will need to update to iOS 14.5 (or iPadOS 14.5) to use the new App Tracking Transparency settings, but after installing the update, this feature will be enabled by default. You will notice that this takes effect whenever you install a new app – a toast notification will now ask if you want the app to track you.
You can also check which apps are allowed to track you and change their permissions at any time in the iOS Settings app:
- Go to Settings> Privacy> Tracking.
- Apps requesting tracking permissions are listed in the Allow apps to request tracking section.
- Tap one of the apps in the list to allow or restrict tracking permissions.
If you’d rather turn off tracking for all iOS apps, you can turn off Allow Apps to Request Tracking under Settings> Privacy> Tracking. This setting will also automatically apply to any new apps you download in the future.
Please note that disabling tracking will affect how the app works, and there is a chance that this approach could break functionality in some apps, while others might stop working altogether. Generally, however, the most common effect is that you will see less relevant ads – which the app will warn you about if you turn off its tracking permissions. You can always restore tracking permissions if that proves to be a problem for you (and you don’t mind being tracked). And if an app doesn’t work with tracking turned off and you still don’t want to be tracked, you can always uninstall that app.
IOS 14.5 App Tracking Transparency isn’t the only privacy-focused feature that Apple recently introduced to its users. The App Store now tells you what types of data are being tracked by iOS apps before you download them , and recent versions of Safari prioritize anonymity, making tracking difficult .
[ Forbes ]