iPhone Security: App Tracking Transparency [18. part]

iPhone is designed to protect your data and privacy. Built-in security features help prevent anyone but you from accessing your iPhone and iCloud data. Accessing devices and services is one thing, monitoring your behavior across the web and in apps is another. Even such data are used by many. But it can be prevented. 

It was a big issue last year and this spring. App tracking transparency was supposed to come with the iOS 14 system, but in the end we didn't get this feature until the spring of this year in iOS 14.5. For the user, this means only one thing - agree or reject the challenge in the banner that appears after the first launch of the application, that's all. But for developers and services, it has much more serious consequences.

This is about advertising targeting. If you allow the application access, it will monitor your behavior and ideally target advertising accordingly. You know when you're looking at some product in an e-shop that you don't end up buying, and it's constantly being thrown at you across the web and apps? That's exactly how you can disable it now. If you do not allow tracking, or if you ask the application not to track, it will still show you advertising, but no longer one that is tailored to you. Of course, it has its positives and negatives. Ad targeting is convenient in that you are shown the relevant one, on the other hand, you may not like that even such information as your behavior is shared between different services.  

Setting the app's permission to track you 

Whether you grant or deny permission to an application, you can change your decision at any time. Just go to Settings -> Privacy -> Tracking. Here you can already see the list of titles that have already asked you to watch. You can give additional consent to any application with the switch on the right, or reject it additionally.

Gallery

Application tracking transparency 1

Application tracking transparency 2

Application tracking transparency 3

Application tracking transparency 4

Application tracking transparency 5

Application tracking transparency 6

Application tracking transparency 7

Then, if you want to deny all apps permission to track, just turn off the option Allow apps to request tracking, which is located at the very top here. If you want to learn more about the whole issue, choose the menu above Additional information, in which Apple describes everything in detail.