iOS 14 is here to disrupt User Tracking by companies

iOS 14 is here to disrupt User Tracking by companies

The new ios 14 privacy features that Apple boasts about, users love and advertisers hate.

BG Photo by Daniel Romero on Unsplash

Ever since the first day of WWDC the talk in the technology industry has been around Apple’s new silicon chip and new iOS and macOS versions. iOS 14 is a major update compared to its previous versions in recent years in terms of revamped UI and new features. Android users have laughed off many features like the picture in picture mode which they’ve had for years now.

But there’s something that many people would’ve overlooked from the keynote, something that may impact billion-dollar companies like Facebook, Google, and the multi-billion dollar ad industry. The advertising world and apple have been in mano a mano for a while now, but these new changes will be game-changer for the industry. Let’s go through some of the major privacy features:

1.App Tracking

iOS 13 already had an ad tracking feature in the phone’s privacy settings which most users were unaware of. With the launch of iOS 14, Apple is giving more control over this to users by bringing this to apps. In iOS 14 if an app wants to track users, they will have to explicitly ask users for their permission. So every time you install an app that requires tracking information you will get a prompt that asks you for permission. Users can also turn off this feature completed

Tracking permission prompt

It’s worth noting that this doesn’t mean apps cannot track you completely, Apple has introduced a new privacy-focused ad framework for developers that allow anonymously retrieving data without getting a hold of the user or specific information. But this will make metrics that most companies use for monetization obsolete.

2. Safari Tracking Report

The new tracking feature in Safari will show users a list of all the trackers a website is using to collect user information. This feature will come to the Safari browser across iPhone, iPad, and Mac and show the users a list of all the cross-site trackers that Apple blocks through its Intelligent Tracking Prevention feature. You would be pretty surprised by the number of trackers popular websites are using to collect your information.

Tracker’s on google.com

3. Local Network Tracking

This is something that the majority of users are unaware of, apps can track devices that are connected to the same network as you. Most popular apps like Facebook, Youtube, MiFit, etc are using this permission to track devices of users and with iOS 14 users can choose to not allow apps that are tracking this way. The surprising fact is that all these apps can run smoothly even if the user denies tracking permission, but they’re simply put in by the companies to collect more user information on other devices of the user.

Mi Fit App asking for local network tracking permission

4. ClipBoard Tracking

This is a feature that has created a lot of buzz recently after many users found out that popular apps are accessing clipboard information frequently. Many popular apps including TikTok, Chrome, LinkedIn, etc.. have been exposed with this new feature. In the video that quickly went viral on Twitter, one user showed the world how TikTok is copying clipboard content even when users are typing something in other apps. This has raised many concerns in the community as clipboard can often contain sensitive information like bank details and if an app is secretly using the clipboard for tracking user’s they can gain access to tons of sensitive. A long list of apps has already been flagged by iOS 14 for this behavior and companies are trying to come up with vague excuses for tracking this information.

TikTok copying clipboard information from Instagram

6. Approximate Location Tracking

Older iOS versions already gave users ample control over when an app could track the user’s location. It was easier for the user’s since iOS 13 to allow location access only once, only while using the app or always, something that received applause in terms of privacy.

iOS 14 is taking this a step further by giving more power to users who can choose to share approximate location with apps, instead of their precise location. With this feature, companies can never know the exact location of a user, but at the same time user can still get relevant ads and check-in to nearby places. Considering that location is one of the most valuable information for user privacy, this is going to a big hit among users as well.

7. Private Mac Address

This is a very simple yet powerful feature that has been added to iOS 14. Users can now mask their MAC addresses for individual wireless networks. Now users can choose to hide their MAC address for particular networks on the iPhone. This has multiple benefits for users like preventing ISPs from tracking user’s devices, getting around a MAC address firewall to access blocked apps and websites, etc.

Option to mask Mac Address while using Wifi

8. Camera and Microphone recording indicator

Apps secretly listening in using your device’s microphone is one of the longest-running conspiracy theories with many people reporting their personal experiences of seeing an ad for a product right after they talked about it. To bring an end to this fear, iOS 14 has a camera and microphone recording indicator in the status bar of the phone. Macs and MacBooks have had a green led indicator to show this for a while now, but iOS 14 also alerts you when an app is using your microphone using an orange dot indicator. In addition, the control center will also show the app that used your camera or microphone most recently.

The orange dot indicating the use of the microphone

Apple has always been at the forefront of companies that give importance to user privacy, they have always used this for their marketing campaign as well. In a recent interview, Tim Cook explained that Apple is not interested in collecting user information saying “ You are not our product, Our products are iPhones and iPads.” While advertisement agencies claim that apple’s policies that unfair, users worldwide are happy that Apple is using their power as the world’s most popular mobile OS to bring about changes that protect user information as opposed to companies that are selling out their users to companies and digital marketers.

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