How to Stop Apps From Tracking You in iOS 14.5

[Tommyinnit]

Ok so I think this might be the reason there’s no pop-up on Instagram. When you go into settings > Ads > Data about your activity from partners. It has a toggle. I think turning this ON might make the pop-up appear.

I’m not going to toggle this to check but if someone else would like to give it a try and confirm this, that would be great!

 

[nwcs]

Pay for your own privacy?

What's next? Paying for the air you breathe?

Not so much paying for privacy but actually paying for the product without the “extra” revenue bits people want to throw in there that are hidden from view.

 

[nholm]

That’s weird. I just installed it and tried it and it worked. Did you double check the universal toggle on the Privacy menu?

Yes, “Allow Apps to Request to Track” is enabled. Have restarted the phone as well.

 

[BidFlux]

Ok so I think this might be the reason there’s no pop-up on Instagram. When you go into settings > Ads > Data about your activity from partners. It has a toggle. I think turning this ON might make the pop-up appear.

I’m not going to toggle this to check but if someone else would like to give it a try and confirm this, that would be great!

View attachment 1764937

Facebook has a similar setting, but its buried of course. Go to Settings and Privacy, Settings, Ad Preferences (towards the bottom), Ad Settings, Data from your activity from partners.

However, Facebook is still getting data from other apps though. Install the Lockdown Privacy app and enable all the block lists, except the Facebook & WhatsApp list. Open Instagram, Messenger, Outlook, TikTok, (just to name a few) and go to View Log in Lockdown and you'll see the tracker graph.facebook.com getting blocked.

 

[Bazza1]

Wow. How convoluted could the language be on this feature?

On the pop-up: "Ask App Not To Track" or "Allow"; why not simply 'Block Tracking" or 'Allow Tracking'?

Then if you go into Settings > Privacy > Tracking, you are faced with "Allow Apps to Request to Track". This could be off or on when you get there. So you might wonder, "If it is off, does this mean the app gets to track me? And when it is on, have I given them permission to track me, or is that vise-versa?" The guidance directly under that switch does nothing to clarify the issue.

Turns out, if you go into 'Learn more...' the language gets even more confusing, into doublespeak and possibly even double negative. Turns out (I think) that if you leave the switch off, iOS will block all requests automatically and you'll not see the pop-up screen on newly installed / updated apps. If you leave the switch on, you will see these pop-ups and, if you use "Ask App Not To Track", it will list them in the Settings > Privacy > Tracking section, for you to later change your mind on.

Couldn't they have simply called it "Tracking", with the instruction that "Off means that tracking is subject to user choice (the pop-up window per each new / updated app), while On blocks all tracking, and no pop-up is seen"?

Some tech writer with Apple spending too much time in his bedroom 'office' during the pandemic, and not enough time talking to real, live people.

 

[Tommyinnit]

Yes, “Allow Apps to Request to Track” is enabled. Have restarted the phone as well.

Ok so I just uninstalled and reinstalled and it worked again. I’ll try other apps and report back. Here’s are the two screenshots —>

 

[Marrakas]

Funny how it says it's to provide you a "better ad experience". Like ads can be a even remotely positive experience. The only good ad experience is no ads.

Nope, this stays off, no matter how many "small businesses" I'm hurting according to Facebook.

 

[Orion1]

I had a funny experience with the Nordstrom App, it asks you if you allow them to track you using their own UI, if you answer no, you don't get the iOS prompt and it's not registered in the settings. If you answer yes and then no in the subsequent prompt from iOS it gets registered....seems fishy

 

[Orion1]

...and I'm up to 21 apps that have requested to allow tracking....

 

[H00513R]

Me every time an app asks to track.

For those in the dark about why you should be concerned about tracking, check out https://privacytools.io

 

[brezz]

Still not getting any apps to ask me to track, maybe it’s just rolling out slowly from the company’s side?

 

[Tommyinnit]

Facebook has a similar setting, but its buried of course. Go to Settings and Privacy, Settings, Ad Preferences (towards the bottom), Ad Settings, Data from your activity from partners.

However, Facebook is still getting data from other apps though. Install the Lockdown Privacy app and enable all the block lists, except the Facebook & WhatsApp list. Open Instagram, Messenger, Outlook, TikTok, (just to name a few) and go to View Log in Lockdown and you'll see the tracker graph.facebook.com getting blocked.

I’m guessing this how it might be for the bigger tech companies - Instead of showing up as a pop up, you select your ad preferences within the apps itself? Saves them the embarrassment of showing up on the tracking list of shame.

 

[Tommyinnit]

...and I'm up to 21 apps that have requested to allow tracking....

Could you perhaps list the 21 please?

 

[MoreAwesomeDanU]

to coin a phrase from a movie on Netflix … “It’s not that I have something to hide, it’s that I don’t wish for you to see”

My health metrics, my positive/negative to sickle cell anemia, my sons, my next of kin, my assets, my preference where I’d like to live in the near or far future, my views on community, equality, social activities, my English or other language acuity or sharpness or lack thereof on subjects and what I eat on which days etc is NON of anyone else’s business that I personal have not chosen to share with.

A better example. You know the amount of data AirMiles and similar points reward systems is that you opt in have a lot of data about you.

let’s say that information is all out there. Let’s say I move from ON, Canada to Texas, USA.

Now my views on community and what I choose to eat and when or where and what I buy at the grocery store could heavily affect me in …

1. life insurance could be denied because I eat a lot of canned fish (I actually don’t but stick with me here) and fear of toxins of a certain metal mineral by be deemed unhealthy and me at high risk for something.

2. my heritage may preclude me from certain equalities, if this was available in another era in history could’ve been sold out and been life threatening.

3. A health condition could be wrongfully treated based on what I eat regularly and was data mined. (Is that TV show House really far off who knows?)

4. a bank is robbed right on the same street just 100yards away from a teller I frequently use and I deposited $2K or say $5K I won off a bet or lottery within say an hour of the robbery. If an investigation found theives deposited stolen cash and others in the area that picked up loose cash could make me a suspect by default. Heck the money could be used for a family members operation and then put on hold until investigation absolves me.

don’t think ALL data is wrong just cause someone feels it’s not anyone else’s right to have but something they need to ask for.

when deep fake video/audio can be done on anyone with certainty of close to real person conversation, thoughts decision process…. How will YOU prove you didn’t threaten the life of someone else in a video of your face voice mannerisms is the proof against you?! Your location will not help you, nor you paying a bill at a creditor or service provider. A video can be recorded and sent online or to parties within mere seconds while you’re doing anything.

there is a GREAT video from BSG Caprica that specifically focuses on personal data that can create a like version of you. Check it out.

I think this and many other posts is are great examples of — yes it makes sense for apple to give people a choice, but is it actually good if most people are just making ill-informed choices?

First of all, the digital profiling tech companies are no where near sophisticated as people think, or as portrayed in popular media.

Second of all, even if it was, this tracking prompt does not prevent any of the things you mentioned.

All advertisers do today is when you visit their website, they, the business you interacted with, not Facebook, sends what you did on their website to Facebook or google. Then FB tries to match up with your profile, and show you ads based on the data that the business shared with FB, because the business asked them (and paid them) to do so.

What data is it basing off of? Well if you visited their website, the business will most likely want to retarget you. If you made a purchase, they just want to find more people like you, who might be likely to make the same purchase.

Thats all there is to it.

Apple doesn't care about your privacy, they are just worried that FB advertising is sidelining the actual App Store. No one goes to the App Store to discover things. Mobile developers especially gaming app developers advertise on FB to drive traffic and revenue. As the mobile phone market saturates, apple is looking for new sources of revenue, and advertising is a great one.

They are the ones knee capping competitors in the advertising space, while developing a different set of rules and requirements for their own ads. These will be based on EVERYTHING you do on your phone, your location, your search, what apps you use the most, what apps you spend most amount of time in, what news you are interested in, what you watch, what your purchasing habits are like (remember the Apple Card?) Don't take my word for it, here's an article from financial times

and here's a screen of apple advertising terms and services — don't you just love how people give a long spiel on how much they care about "privacy", and they think they were offered controls for it, yet every activity on their phone is still being tracked and used for ads

Oh, this is all AFTER paying $1200 for the phone itself. I guess "you are the product" after all.

 

[Orion1]

Could you perhaps list the 21 please?

Ali Express
AP News
B&H Photo
Backgammon
BBC News
Bloomingdales
Buddywatch
Dunkin’
ESPN
Home Depot
Insiders (Disney)
LG ThinQ
Macy’s
McDonalds
Mi Home
Nespresso
Nordstrom
Shake Shack
Solitaire
Subway
Walmart

 

[MoreAwesomeDanU]

I had a funny experience with the Nordstrom App, it asks you if you allow them to track you using their own UI, if you answer no, you don't get the iOS prompt and it's not registered in the settings. If you answer yes and then no in the subsequent prompt from iOS it gets registered....seems fishy

data sharing is off by default unless you are prompted and actively say yes to it.

companies won't trigger the iOS prompt unless you express you want your data to be shared, because they only get one chance to ask you. When you say no in their own UI, your data is not being used for ads, but they will most likely ask you again down the road as you are doing something in context.

When you ask a company not to track, what people don't seem to get is you are not hurting FB, you are hurting the company itself. Their ads will become less effective, and therefore their business will dwindle.

People complain they don't see relevant ads anyways, but last time I checked digital advertising was a multi billion dollar industry, you would think companies know their ROI when they dump so much money into this.

 

[DeepIn2U]

I think this and many other posts is are great examples of — yes it makes sense for apple to give people a choice, but is it actually good if most people are just making ill-informed choices?

First of all, the digital profiling tech companies are no where near sophisticated as people think, or as portrayed in popular media.

Second of all, even if it was, this tracking prompt does not prevent any of the things you mentioned.

All advertisers do today is when you visit their website, they, the business you interacted with, not Facebook, sends what you did on their website to Facebook or google. Then FB tries to match up with your profile, and show you ads based on the data that the business shared with FB, because the business asked them (and paid them) to do so.

What data is it basing off of? Well if you visited their website, the business will most likely want to retarget you. If you made a purchase, they just want to find more people like you, who might be likely to make the same purchase.

Thats all there is to it.

Apple doesn't care about your privacy, they are just worried that FB advertising is sidelining the actual App Store. No one goes to the App Store to discover things. Mobile developers especially gaming app developers advertise on FB to drive traffic and revenue. As the mobile phone market saturates, apple is looking for new sources of revenue, and advertising is a great one.

They are the ones knee capping competitors in the advertising space, while developing a different set of rules and requirements for their own ads. These will be based on EVERYTHING you do on your phone, your location, your search, what apps you use the most, what apps you spend most amount of time in, what news you are interested in, what you watch, what your purchasing habits are like (remember the Apple Card?) Don't take my word for it, here's an article from financial times

View attachment 1765206

and here's a screen of apple advertising terms and services — don't you just love how people give a long spiel on how much they care about "privacy", and they think they were offered controls for it, yet every activity on their phone is still being tracked and used for ads

Oh, this is all AFTER paying $1200 for the phone itself. I guess "you are the product" after all.

View attachment 1765210

Seems to be conditional to advertisers using Apples ad system on iOS … 5k criteria mat home needed. Also bout the last screenshot it’s Apple talk king to the end user But not specifically bout advertising. Seems like you’re mixing separate info to make a point?

 

[Vance9991]

Yay! now Facebook won't advertise candy and food delivery services to me like they constantly do.

 

[realjerk]

So dudes will be pushed ads for mascara, diapers and arcade games now instead of beer, trucks and tools.

Maybe tracking is better

So "dudes" don't have children so they don't need diapers, or what?
Are you from the stone age?

 

[jeremiah256]

When you ask a company not to track, what people don't seem to get is you are not hurting FB, you are hurting the company itself. Their ads will become less effective, and therefore their business will dwindle.

It’s a protest against how their advertising money is being spent. By definition, protests are supposed to cause pain, to change an unwanted behavior.

 

[DeepIn2U]

So "dudes" don't have children so they don't need diapers, or what?
Are you from the stone age?

Tony Hawk is still a dude ... he's a father

 

[return2sendai]

I've toggled it "on" just for trial. But so far, nothing. No pop ups, not even from Google apps.

 

[Apple_Robert]

The only problem with the iOS 14.5 update is that I feel so lonely. I keep looking over my shoulder and no one is there.

 

[tavsingh]

The H&M app also has an instant popup.

 

[tavsingh]

The Wordscapes games also have the popup and they also have the prohibited custom popup with the word “Allow” on it before the main popup