Apple gives oxygen to FaceBook: it delays the anti-tracking policies of iOS 14 by six months

Apple has decided to postpone the new rules on monitoring user activity between applications that will be incorporated in iOS 14, postponing the requirement of the agreement that had raised blisters on Facebook, as we have already commented at the time.

Announced at WWDC 2020, this new feature in iOS 14 aims to make it clear to users that some apps will use their data to deliver personalized ads, explained in simple language that everyone can understand, and from there they will log their activity across different apps and the web. pages. What Apple is going to do is offer users the ability to toggle a switch that prevents such tracking.

This measure announced by Apple has been well received by users and by all those concerned about privacy, as it is a radical approach that until then no one had taken. However, ad networks and advertisers have viewed it with less enthusiasm, as going through the guillotine is one of their main sources of income.

The iPhone or iPad user profile is of particular interest to advertisers, as it traditionally has greater purchasing power. Furthermore, in some markets it is the dominant platform (such as in the United States). Losing that market means losing access to the audience that matters most, which makes it difficult to sell personalized ads and deteriorates the social profile that is built on each of us (which in turn serves to predict what we do when and where, so that new ads appear just when we are thinking about, for example, a trip, buying a gift, etc.

The pressure from Facebook must have been quite intense, so much so that Apple has decided to temporarily break its word and delay the entry into force of these rules. We're sure Facebook (and Google, let's not forget, are in the same business) will spend this time trying to find a way around this ban and keep spying on us. We wouldn't be surprised if articles appear next to the delay deadline saying it hasn't been long enough and that Apple is trying to keep the business for itself, monopoly, blah blah blah.

At the time, this is what Apple said about privacy and advertiser tracking in iOS 14

At Apple, we believe that privacy is a fundamental human right. As announced at WWDC20, the App Store product pages will show a new section on privacy information to help users understand each app's privacy practices. We will post more details for developers to include in this new privacy section. At the end of the month, they will be able to submit information via App Store Connect to be prepared when this new feature is introduced to users at the end of the year.

Furthermore, for the apps for iOS 14, iPadOS 14 and tvOS 14, it will be mandatory for the user to give permission to follow users through apps or web pages owned by other companies or to access the advertising identifier of the device. We are committed to ensuring that users can choose whether they want to be followed or not. To give developers time to make the necessary changes, apps will need to get permission to log users' device usage starting next year. More information, including an update to the App Store Review Guidelines, will be released this fall.

And here, although it is in English, Apple's plans for iOS 14 and privacy.

Apple repeatedly makes it clear that its customers (and therefore its priority) are its users, not those who do business using its platforms. This means that more and more people are buying Apple devices and that trust in the Apple brand is skyrocketing.