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Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 to Developers With Anti-Tracking Requirement

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Apple today seeded the first betas of new iOS and iPadOS 14.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, a week after releasing the iOS 14.4 update with bug fixes and feature updates.

14.5-on-iPhone-12-feature.jpg

iOS and iPadOS 14.5 can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center or over the air after the proper profile has been installed on an iPhone or iPad.

iOS 14.5 is the update where Apple will begin enforcing its App Tracking Transparency privacy feature, which will require app developers to ask for and receive a user's permission to access their random advertising identifier (known as the IDFA) to track user activity across apps and websites.

app-tracking-transparency-prompt-ios-14.jpg

Going forward, when an app wants to access the IDFA, users will see a prompt with options to "Allow Tracking" or "Ask App Not to Track." These features have already been implemented in iOS 14 and they are available to developers, but with iOS 14.5, they will be required rather than voluntary.

Selecting "Ask App Not to Track" will prevent the app's developer from accessing the user's IDFA, and developers will also have to respect the user's tracking preference and refrain from using other methods to track users. Disobeying this rule could cause an app to face removal from the App Store. Tracking preferences can be managed by going to Settings > Privacy > Tracking.

app-tracking-settings-ios-14.jpg

There's no word yet on what else might be included in the iOS 14.5 update, but it likely focuses on performance improvements and bug fixes for issues that weren't able to be addressed in the iOS 14.4 release. When we've downloaded the update and found what's new, we'll add an update to this article.

Apple has said iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 will be released to the public in the early spring.

Article Link: Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 to Developers With Anti-Tracking Requirement
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/02/01/apple-releases-ios-14-5-beta-1-to-developers/
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Reactions: decypher44
thadoggfather said:
Doesn't it beg the question... why we are only now getting anti-tracking features in the year 2021?
Click to expand...

Choose your own adventure:

1) In the early days when their advertising platform was new Apple were making lots and lots of much needed money out of selling targeted advertising, but they can survive with the income from generic advertising now.

2) It's better marketing, they want to be seen as the good guys hoping to attract more people to their products by portraying themselves as noble protectors rather than a member of the swamp full of evil data grabbing meanies.

3) Tim Cook is a nice guy.
 
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Another beta, another vague hope crossfade will come to the Music app so it can catch up to the Android version, but a deep knowing it won't be there.
 
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There should be an option in iPhone settings that just auto denies all apps the permission to track me.

edit: I'm stupid, apparently turning off "Allow app to request to track" automatically denies all tracking requests, which is exactly what I need. Apple could've made that a little more clear, had to click read more and scroll through a wall of text to figure out that turning it off actually auto denies.
 
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Good, the more people that have the beta installed, the better. This can't come too soon.

For the first time in a long time, I may have to install the dev beta on my phone.
 
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bobmans said:
There should be an option in iPhone settings that just auto denies all apps the permission to track me.

edit: I'm stupid, apparently turning off "Allow app to request to track" automatically denies all tracking requests, which is exactly what I need. Apple could've made that a little more clear, had to click read more and scroll through a wall of text to figure out that turning it off actually auto denies.
Click to expand...
Is there a downside in de-selecting “Allow Apps to Request to Track”? Wondering if there are truly legit reasons an app would need to track to operate properly.
 
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I think that these mid cycle March / April updates are starting to have more substantial features than the fall upgrades.
last March, we got the version of iOS 13 with iPad trackpad support. That was bigger than anything added in 14.0.
This March, we’re getting these new tracking prevention features, and the ability to unlock iPhones with Apple Watches, two important and long requested features.
 
decypher44 said:
Is there a downside in de-selecting “Allow Apps to Request to Track”? Wondering if there are truly legit reasons an app would need to track to operate properly.
Click to expand...
Facebook won't be able to sell and display ads based on what you do outside Facebook.

According to Zuckerberg, this supposedly hurts small businesses, even though most ads I see on Facebook are from larger companies or companies based outside US.
 
If you, like I, use your iPhone for work, and are using Comp Portal to validate MS Office applications, stay away from this beta. The beta works fine, but none of my company controlled apps worked after the upgrade. I just reverted back to 14.4, and then restored from yesterday's backup. Guess I'll wait on that iPhone...
 
Killerbob said:
If you, like I, use your iPhone for work, and are using Comp Portal to validate MS Office applications, stay away from this beta. The beta works fine, but none of my company controlled apps worked after the upgrade. I just reverted back to 14.4, and then restored from yesterday's backup. Guess I'll wait on that iPhone...
Click to expand...
I almost went for this beta!
Thanks for the warning
 
I think it is the software that validates the iPhone (Comp Portal), that stops all the controlled apps from starting. It is probably just an update to that app, but they will most likely not support a Beta iOS.
 
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