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Well, maybe finally I will start to see ads I may actually be interested in, instead of the same stuff over and over and over...
then you want apps to track... no tracking you get just generic crap, with tracking at least there is a chance what is being promoted to you is of interest.
 
Opting in to every app that asks, don't want to go back to the early internet where every ad was a viagra ad.
100% this!

Digital advertising is not evil, if I'm going to have to see ads to keep services free then at least I want them to be relevant. let's face it, the ad supported model is not going away, it's been here since the beginning of publishing. Just because we've moved from printing press to web browser and app doesn't change the fact that the underlying business model is the same.

In the end, ad networks WANT to show you ads you are interested in, if they show you a bunch of generic stuff the chance you will buy their product or service is much lower. As consumer, I want to see ads for things I care about an digital ad networks act as the matchmaker.

Advertiser ID is totally anonymized anyhow, it just helps advertisers connect the dots and get to know you better. Think about it as training your on personalized AI marketplace concierge!

I realize this is a idyllic view of digital advertising and the current state is more manipulatable but regardless, denying access to this data won't make any experience better or more personalized and ultimately ad networks will just use other heuristics that already exist to do the same thing.

Personally I just see this as a marketing spin for Apple, to differentiate from Google and Facebook, to try and align perceived values with the consumer. Frankly, it's brilliant, the public and press are eating it up like thanksgiving dinner.
 
If developers can no longer make money from ad supported iOS apps, they will either have to make them subscription only or remove the apps and focus on Android and Web based apps instead.
It would GREAT if services were more tailored toward user needs and desires, rather than trying to make them as addicting and data-sucking as possible.

I'll happily pay for services that delight or benefit me and save my time for real life.
 
100% this!

Digital advertising is not evil, if I'm going to have to see ads to keep services free then at least I want them to be relevant. let's face it, the ad supported model is not going away, it's been here since the beginning of publishing. Just because we've moved from printing press to web browser and app doesn't change the fact that the underlying business model is the same.

In the end, ad networks WANT to show you ads you are interested in, if they show you a bunch of generic stuff the chance you will buy their product or service is much lower. As consumer, I want to see ads for things I care about an digital ad networks act as the matchmaker.
I’ve always wondered who were the people that WANTED targeted ads. Make all the ads Viagra, make them all Mazda, I don’t care because I’m not clicking any of them anyway. The only thing I want from an ad is to not have any audio. That’s it. If there’s something I’m particularly interested in, I can go to duckduckgo, type the name of the thing I’m interested in and get LOADS of information without a single targeted ad.

Want to advertise to me? Make a product so great that many different sites are at least talking about it. That’s how you get my attention.

EDIT: Actually, upon thinking about it, I guess there’s one form of targeted marketing I’d be ok with. If I’m on the Solar Powerered Artisanal All-Natural Fletching Table blog, feel free to show me ads related to Solar Powered Fletching and Solar Powered Fletching accessories. Especially of those accessories are also Artisanal and/or All-Natural (though that’s not a strict requirement. Mass Manufactured accessories are fine, too, as long as they’re compatible). That’s fair.
 
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Yes, but that's a static number, isn't it? Is it tied to the device, or the Apple ID? My confusion is if the IDFA is shared once, that pretty much means it's 'out there' and usable, doesn't it?
The IDFA Isn’t completely static, you can reset it in Preferences.

Prior to iOS 14.5 you could reset it globally but in 14.5 you can reset it on a per-app basis.
 
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How is it that Flurry has access to see whether I've enabled or disabled this setting?

I don't remember allowing sites that I don't even visit to determine whether I have a given setting enabled or not.
Wel, that’s exactly the point.

They track you across multiple apps and websites without your consent.

Anyone willing to pay to play can get access to the data harvested from what you do on those apps and websites.
 
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I’ve chosen be the 4% of population. I prefer to say to every app “ask not to track” and see what apps are currently trying to track users.
I’d be interested in what you come up with if you feel like sharing your findings in the future
 
So it was off for me by default. I seldom came from a beta. I turned it on (I’m now on 14.6 beta), ran FB, and bingo, got their propaganda message. You hit continue and it asks you. I declined and went back to not allowing by default. Now, in addition to the “master switch” I have a lust with Facebook on it snd an individual switch /9so I could enable it for everyone but FB if I wanted to.
 
I think this s down to confusion.

"Allow Apps to Request To Track"

Toggle off = You do not allow apps to "request" to track you, which some users interpret as meaning apps cannot track you at all and some users interpret as meaning apps can track you but cannot request to track you.

Toggle on = You allow apps to "request" to track you, which some users interpret as meaning apps cannot track you at all and some users interpret as meaning apps can track you but must request to track you.

Very confusing.

I don't know if Im using it correctly by toggling it on. I think that means apps must ask first. But despite having toggled it on since the update, no apps have asked. So I have no idea whether apps are tracking me or not. So no change. So why bother?
 
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100% this!

Digital advertising is not evil, if I'm going to have to see ads to keep services free then at least I want them to be relevant. let's face it, the ad supported model is not going away, it's been here since the beginning of publishing. Just because we've moved from printing press to web browser and app doesn't change the fact that the underlying business model is the same.

In the end, ad networks WANT to show you ads you are interested in, if they show you a bunch of generic stuff the chance you will buy their product or service is much lower. As consumer, I want to see ads for things I care about an digital ad networks act as the matchmaker.

Advertiser ID is totally anonymized anyhow, it just helps advertisers connect the dots and get to know you better. Think about it as training your on personalized AI marketplace concierge!

I realize this is a idyllic view of digital advertising and the current state is more manipulatable but regardless, denying access to this data won't make any experience better or more personalized and ultimately ad networks will just use other heuristics that already exist to do the same thing.

Personally I just see this as a marketing spin for Apple, to differentiate from Google and Facebook, to try and align perceived values with the consumer. Frankly, it's brilliant, the public and press are eating it up like thanksgiving dinner.

If you’re happy to be tracked then great. I get your reasons. So you click allow.

But surely you must agree people have a right to a choice?
 
The remaining 4% probably aren't aware they can opt out and their default settings were messed up.

Well, I assumed that it was 'untrackable' after the update was installed. I mean, with the way FB was rolling around on the floor, sobbing and crying, I assumed it was a done deal. So, if you have to turn something on, that requires user input, and, well, um... Having to turn something 'on', interact with the device, is *hard*. I wasn't quite sure what to do, actually. The 'helpful' notice I got from Apple wasn't, alas, very helpful. A simple 'Turn this setting ON to piss off Suckerburg!' would have been so much more helpful. *sigh*
 
I’ve been saying it for years but it bears repeating. Facebook isn’t free. You’re paying for it with your privacy. They, and other services that are marketed as “free” when they are anything but, need to offer a paid tier where there is no tracking. Give users a choice. You can have it for free but we’re tracking you or pay a monthly fee for our service and we won’t. It’s a pretty straightforward problem with a pretty straightforward solution. It’s pitiful that it took Apple to begin doing this to start to force the issue. We should have had a personal privacy bill of rights years passed by a Congress and signed into law by a President years ago but there’s too much money in it so it’ll never happen. I’m glad Apple is stepping up their game in this regard. Our bought and paid for politicians sure as hell won’t.
 
They, and other services that are marketed as “free” when they are anything but, need to offer a paid tier where there is no tracking.
They’d never offer it. They’re making SO much more money on the aggregate of data, that allowing an option for millions to potentially opt out would probably cost more per year that most people could afford or want to pay.
 
It would GREAT if services were more tailored toward user needs and desires, rather than trying to make them as addicting and data-sucking as possible.

I'll happily pay for services that delight or benefit me and save my time for real life.
I have lots of free apps on my iPhone. Of those I would only be willing to pay a subscription for a handful of apps. Make no mistake, lots of iOS apps will disappear because the developers have insufficient revenues to keep going. The iPhone has been so successful largely because of the number of free apps available. Without those free apps on iOS, Android suddenly becomes a much more attractive place for developers and users who want free apps. This policy sounds great but it could backfire spectacularly if developers start abandoning iOS.
 
the wording of the question is also a little ambiguous - it could be taken as if it's disabled then apps don't need to ask to track and they will track unless you otherwise stop it.
Yes, this. My iOS is not in English and I thought this was just because of a careless translation. I see it can be ambiguous in English too. I enabled it, just in case, but now, off it goes. I think I had one app so far asking for permission.
 
The iPhone has been so successful largely because of the number of free apps available.
The iPhone was successful on ONE carrier even without apps from the very start. And, as has been mentioned by others, iPhone users are MORE apt to spend money than Android users. So, you may get a few stalwarts that don’t want to support developers, BUT a large number of folks, already familiar with Patreon and other “pay the creator” schemes, will be fine tossing a few bucks a month/year to a developer that provides them with something that they enjoy using.

I mean, since there’s folks that will pay to have their name show on the screen during a live stream, a developer could just stream their coding sessions even LOL!
 
Facebook doesn’t get it. We’re not loyal to them.

I wish Apple would make a social network like Facebook was when it first started. No companies, just people.

Not possible, does not make money. People will not pay a cent to use an app especially social network. I wonder if one can be done with ethical ads(no tracking+no profiling).

The closest thing I saw was Mastodon...its not pretty though. There is also gab.com...

Why would anyone ever choose to turn on tracking? Open to any use cases....

For Facebook&Google employees to check if their code works
 
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The default is for tracking to be disabled when iOS 14.5 is installed. So in reality this is "4% of users have opted in to having apps ask whether to track or not". 96% of users have just done nothing.

CORRECT. Thats how it should be, privacy is the default. Sharing and exposing yourself should be opt-in. Like smoking rooms, all rooms are non-smoking unless you choose to go into the smoker's rooms. Not all public zones are smoking zones by default.
 
if I am going to see ads, i prefer ones targeted towards me.

I know I am in the minority, but that’s the way I feel about it.
I don’t think many people are against personalised ads. The problem is that they use targeted ads as an excuses to create non anonymised user profiles that contains incredibly personal and private info that they sell to other companies. All behind our backs.
 
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I didn't even know it was there. I think they need to ask these questions when the phone boots up after a update so we know what's new etc..
 
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