How to Stop Apps From Tracking You in iOS 14.5

[MacRumors]

With the launch of iOS 14.5, apps are no longer allowed to access the IDFA or tracking advertiser on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV without your express permission, keeping your app data more private. Apps use your IDFA to track you across different apps and websites, keeping tabs on your preferences and app usage habits.

When an app wants to use your IDFA, you'll see a popup that says "Allow [app] to track your activity across other companies' apps and websites?"

When this prompt comes up, you can choose to select "Ask App Not to Track," which blocks all access to your advertising identifier, or "Allow," which lets the app access the information for tracking purposes. Apps are allowed to explain why they want access to the IDFA, but the ad industry largely expects most people to decline.

If you don't want to deal with these popups from ads and want to universally block access to the IDFA, there's a Privacy setting that allows you to do so. Follow these steps:

1. Open up the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap Privacy.
   
3. Tap on Tracking.
4. Toggle off "Allow Apps to Request to Track."

Depending on your prior privacy settings, this toggle may have already been turned off on your device. If it wasn't, this will make sure that you don't see tracking request popups and that apps aren't able to access your IDFA.

Developers are now required to adhere to Apple's privacy rules, so if you don't have this toggle turned off, you can expect to see quite a few more popups from apps that want to use your advertising identifier for ad targeting purposes.

It's worth noting that the anti-tracking rule also expands to other tracking methods, so app developers are not allowed to create workarounds that allow them to gather enough data about your device to create a profile even without the IDFA.

If for some reason you decide you want to turn tracking on for a particular app but had the auto-decline feature turned on, you can get the popup to come back by turning it off and then re-downloading the app.

Article Link: How to Stop Apps From Tracking You in iOS 14.5

 

[Sasparilla]

Question here.

Is this a "I've said I don't want to be tracked" and the companies, say Facebook, can just go ahead and track you anyways situation? (A bit like that whole browser don't track me on the web bellyflop that happened a decade or more ago)

Wondering if there's actually anyway this has confirmation and followup on the companies that don't want to play by the rules.

 

[Seanm87]

I know I can just toggle this in the settings but to be honest I'm going to get quite a joy manually pressing no to everything instead.

 

[max2]

I will reject all of them and I know I can just toggle this in the settings but to be honest I'm going to get quite a joy manually pressing no to everything instead.

Me too!

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Good bye Facebook. RIP.

 

[glsillygili]

I'm still on 14.2.1 and I started to see these, whats up with that?

 

[nwcs]

I can’t envision a single reason why I would want to allow any app to track me for advertising. It’s not like all these so-called personalized ads were ever relevant to me. I’d rather be given the option to pay and not have any ads/tracking of any variety (including metrics) or as generic as possible if I’m not allowed the option.

 

[The Chosen One]

Just to clarify this doesn't stop ads from appearing.

 

[jz0309]

I know I can just toggle this in the settings but to be honest I'm going to get quite a joy manually pressing no to everything instead.

agree ... but I don't have any FB app installed anymore, so the fun will be limited

 

[Seanm87]

agree ... but I don't have any FB app installed anymore, so the fun will be limited

I think you'll be surprised how many apps track you. Its not just Facebook.

 

[Sasparilla]

I can’t envision a single reason why I would want to allow any app to track me for advertising. It’s not like all these so-called personalized ads were ever relevant to me. I’d rather be given the option to pay and not have any ads/tracking of any variety (including metrics) or as generic as possible if I’m not allowed the option.

I'd like that as a law for all apps on all platforms - pay and no tracking, no data harvesting. It would need enforcement and verification of course.

 

[HuskD]

Mine shows greyed out, has happened on all betas, I searched for various solutions and nothing has worked, it’s only enabled once I sign out of iCloud. Has anyone experienced this?

 

[dsusanj]

I'm still on 14.2.1 and I started to see these, whats up with that?

App developers had the option of implementing them early in their apps but it was not required.

 

[jz0309]

I think you'll be surprised how many apps track you. Its not just Facebook.

I know, just I HATE Facebook

 

[macachia]

Mine shows greyed out, has happened on all betas, I searched for various solutions and nothing has worked, it’s only enabled once I sign out of iCloud. Has anyone experienced this?

Likewise. Mine is greyed out

 

[SWAON]

I already blocked all apps of accessing to my IDFA prior to 14.5 update, butT and it's a big one: I want all app ads to also be blocked. This is sooo annoying, Apple.

 

[dlewis23]

Question here.

Is this a "I've said I don't want to be tracked" and the companies, say Facebook, can just go ahead and track you anyways situation? (A bit like that whole browser don't track me on the web bellyflop that happened a decade or more ago)

Wondering if there's actually anyway this has confirmation and followup on the companies that don't want to play by the rules.

No they can't just track you anyways if you say do not track with the IDFA. If you choose to not track the IDFA returns 0 so they can't track you with that ID and they can only ask once.

That being said, there is nothing to stop them from trying to come up with or use other basic menthols to track you.

I believe that IP address are going to become very important for tracking you and mobile providers will start to have a static IP address assigned to each phone and then offer your data to ad providers as a way to track you.

 

[DoctorTech]

I know I can just toggle this in the settings but to be honest I'm going to get quite a joy manually pressing no to everything instead.

LOL, I was thinking the same thing. I will probably manually say no a dozen times then turn the toggle to automatically decline all future requests.

 

[5tev]

Why is mine greyed out?

 

[gmanist1000]

Mine is also greyed out.

 

[_Spinn_]

Just turned it off. Good riddance.

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

Thank u Apple for giving 1b users the utmost in privacy and security that is a fundamental right

 

[sparkinstx]

I went in to check mine, and tracking is already turned off. I turned it on, then off again, to verify that the slider works. Now I just need to upgrade WatchOS, to check out unlocking the phone with the watch. 👍

 

[k1121j]

Well this was turned off by default.. This will go over like a lead balloon. I had planned to turn it off anyways. For now i turned it on but no apps are asking am I doing something wrong?

 

[EdT]

Any negative consequences for doing this? I can’t imagine most people allowing tracking if all blocking it does is prevent ads from being sent.