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Apps Continuing to Track Users Despite Apple's Privacy Prompt
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Why didn't the Financial Times expose and list all those naughty developers? Are they complicit as well for hiding the information?
The finger can be pointed at that direction as well.
The finger can be pointed at that direction as well.
Tracking isn't limited to social media apps. Many other apps use(d) tracking. Check your privacy settings for apps that have permission to use your microphone.
Exactly. Did users expect something different?
If Apple wanted to eliminate tracking, they could. Simply add it to their T&Cs. Track and you get dropped from the store. Prob is, there’s be 126 apps remaining - which isn’t that compelling.
Yet if you were to go to someones house who thought up all these "neat" little Privacy Workaround's and stuck a camera in a window they would be shocked to their core. What's the bloody difference?
If Apple does not start enforcing their own rules that app developers are violating they are going to get hit with a class action lawsuit.
This! Just like precise location vs approximate. Ridiculous. Like said, shouldn’t be allowed to demand all tracking allowed in order to use their app.
All the do not track does is not allow the IDFA to be returned. This is not Apple's fault, the system works as it was designed to.
But it does not and never will stop someone from using IP and geo location to track you. Apple can't do anything to stop trackers from using your IP and other basic device information to identify you.
IP based tracking is here and will now be more important than ever.
But it does not and never will stop someone from using IP and geo location to track you. Apple can't do anything to stop trackers from using your IP and other basic device information to identify you.
IP based tracking is here and will now be more important than ever.
Even without the apps installed they still have the SDKs in every app that collects the same data to build shadow profiles. Only way to stop it is a tool like NextDNS.io or at home a pihole/AdGuard home.
Yes, Don't blame Apple, they are trying, ask the people who are tracking where is their "permission"?
I’ve been in the market for a new car for a few months now. Only searching on my iPhone and iPad with DDG in Safari. I don’t use social media (unless you count Reddit and if so, I never made any posts about it).
A few weeks ago, I was in my bank app and it said I’ve been pre-approved for a car loan. My bank has never offered any car loan pre-approvals before. There is definitely some level of tracking going on.
A few weeks ago, I was in my bank app and it said I’ve been pre-approved for a car loan. My bank has never offered any car loan pre-approvals before. There is definitely some level of tracking going on.
There is likely nothing Apple could do to stop this. Apple can't stop and app or ad from getting your IP address and location. Those 2 bits of information will be the most import bits going forward.
And noting will stop a mobile provider from selling the information of who you are based on your IP address.
Unless Apple proxies all traffic to apps, developers are going to receive that IP address info. If they did proxy everything it would introduce other issues. Apple can’t really win here. If they were more strict and enforced all policies 100% then the offerings in the App Store would suck because a lot of the apps people use regularly would be gone. The Internet and many of the things found there are made free by advertising, and although it shouldn’t be so personalized (unless expressly allowed) it’s what allows things to continue to be free.
Apple should force all tracking done through one of their APIs, then when a user request not to be followed, the app would have no idea that the information they are getting back from the API is false/made up. Just like they do for photo access. When a user denies photo access to an app, the app doesn't know the user has denied access, just that there aren't any photos in the camera roll.
So we're blaming Apple for app developers deliberately trying to bypass the new rules and permission screens, by finding alternative methods?! Give me a break - With that straw man argument you can blame every single person for every other persons actions.
I suspect the reason Apple still defaults Google is due to the user experience. Currently their is no other search engine company who has been able to provide a better user experience.
I understand your concern but this could be coincidental. Or the ads you saw on the pages that you visited could be tied to an ad network that your bank also uses for advertising. Even though DuckDuckGo isn’t tracking or selling your data, once you click a link from the search results you are going to a site that has its own ad policies.
if you have Lockdown installed on your phone you'll see that most apps are contacting all kinds of servers on the LD blocklist. the # of connections does not seem to have changed with "do not track". while it's impossible to know what data is being sent over those connections, at least i can say that the behavior has not substantially changed.
despite this i definitely get some ads that seem to be relevant to what i've been shopping for, searching for, etc. this could be because amazon and google have successfully attached themselves to my email addresses and these apps serving ads are keying off of the email address? just no idea. but it sucks.
despite this i definitely get some ads that seem to be relevant to what i've been shopping for, searching for, etc. this could be because amazon and google have successfully attached themselves to my email addresses and these apps serving ads are keying off of the email address? just no idea. but it sucks.
Yes I blame Apple if they are turning a blind eye to it without enforcing their rules.
List of things Apple “brings to the table”:
- Hardware and OS
- Users
- APIs
- App Store (includes hosting and distributors of apps)