Track Protection in the App Store: Nothing works without transparency

Apps that will be distributed on the Apple App Store in the future must adhere to the so-called Transparency of Application Tracking (ATT), or they will not be allowed anymore. This is what the developers say. In addition, Apple itself has reminded its developers on the developer’s website.

No overtaking allowed

ATT means that apps that want to read the iPhone’s central advertising identifier must first register this with the user and get approval for it. Since many users aren’t allowed to do this, tracking profitable customers across apps will be more difficult in the future – at least using Apple’s built-in tools. The group also wants to prevent developers from using abuses – and reject corresponding apps in the future if they are discovered. Advertising ID (“Apple ID for Advertisers”, IDFA for short) can actually be deleted and partially configured by users, but this requires a trip to system settings, which many users fail to do. The subscription now taking place makes tracking significantly more visible.

New app store rules

A must have for developers who submit applications ATT Think now. According to Apple, the technology will be offered with iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS 14.5. The corresponding change can be found in App Store Rules Under Point 5.1.2 (1). As Apple continues with the emergence of new operating systems, All Applications must support ATT. If the user does not give their consent, the IDFA automatically only consists of zeros and the user should not be tracked, according to Apple. Aloud Messages from multiple developers Apple has now started rejecting apps that contain certain ad SDK packages like Adjust, because they are used for device fingerprints. Developers should check for updates.

Criticism from Facebook

ATT is not without controversy. Competition watchers scrutinized the process and Facebook sparked an enormous mood against the technology. Apple initially postponed tracking transparency, but it hasn’t shied away from introducing it with iOS 14.5. You can read more about the new app tracking in the upcoming Mac & i version 2/2021.

(Bachelor)