With iOS 14.5, Apple has introduced some new privacy features that will limit targeted advertising.
By Daphne Leprince-Ringuet
📸: Jimmy Benson
Ever been spammed with sportswear adverts after looking up gym membership fees, or been bombarded with tempting hotel discounts upon booking flights for your next getaway?
These sort of adverts, almost eerie in how relevant they are to users’ interests, are now a common part of our experience of using apps and the web. But with the new release of iOS 14.5, and with it a new feature called App Tracking Transparency (ATT), these ads might now become less of a common sight.
The Cupertino giant, in effect, is introducing some limitations to the data collection practices that constitute the bread-and-butter of creepy targeted advertising arising from our use of apps.
ATT was confirmed earlier this year, and it is a major blow to most modern-day online advertising strategies. The feature requires apps to get users’ permission before tracking their data across other companies’ apps or websites for advertising purposes.
In other words, if users decide to select “Ask app not to track,” then the app’s developers will not be allowed to collect data about users’ behavior outside of the services provided on their own platform.
For businesses new to digital marketing, these steps may feel huge to begin with, but once you get the hang of it, it will seem as natural as wearing a seatbelt in a car.
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