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So much for Apple Privacy !!!

While signed into iOS App Store, does 'Limit Ad Tracking' turn itself off?

  • Yes 'Limit Ad Tracking' turns itself off without my permission

  • No 'Limit Ad Tracking' obeys my preference and stays on

Results are only viewable after voting.
Y

Yakanina

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 16, 2018
4
0
'Limit Ad Tracking' is turning itself off while signed into the iOS App Store !

01.png 02.png 03.png

After searching the interwebs there appears to be others experiencing this issue.

As usual calling Apple Technical support was a waste of time, they are clueless o_O

I've tried DFU restore, different device, even tested with a new Apple ID. Still Limit Ad Tracking keeps turning itself OFF. Restrictions don't help either, the phone or Apple server just ignores the restrictions ! :mad:

Any ideas ?

The preference seems to be tied to the Apple ID?

"If you chose to enable Limit Ad Tracking, Apple’s advertising platform will opt your Apple ID out of receiving ads targeted to your interests regardless of what device you are using."

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205223

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8390320

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8374113

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/7ya1wi/limit_ad_tracking_being_disabled_unexpectedly/

0.png
 
Limit ad tracking is tied to your AppleID (as mentioned by Apple) and sync'd via Apple/iCloud servers to your other devices. So if I toggle it on my iPhone I can watch it toggle on both my iPads seemingly on its own.

If one of your devices isn't accessible or has a problem with its iCloud log in it wont send the confirmation back to Apple and allow you to toggle it on your iPhone. If the loading thing spins for a long time that can just mean one of your devices is not online for whatever reason.

I suggest verifying all your devices are online and logging onto iCloud.com to make sure there isn't an iOS device you no longer use still on there. If so delete it so its not blocking the request. Worst case scenario on of your other iOS devices is having problems with iCloud authentication and you'll need to log out and back into iCloud.

Seems like you've done everything else so I'm assuming this is your issue.

Good luck.
 
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Limit ad tracking stays on for me until I turn it off. Visiting the App Store has no effect on it, so it is working as designed and expected.
 
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I'm calling this a bug as opposed to the paranoia that Apple's deliberately stalking anyone. Just checked my 11.4 iPhone 7 plus, Limit was ON. Went into the App store (42 updates - yikes :eek:) then back out to Privacy - the setting was still ON.

Yet again we have a case of someone calling wolf because they don't know the difference between a bug and a 'as designed' feature.
 
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TiggrToo said:
Yet again we have a case of someone calling wolf because they don't know the difference between a bug and a 'as designed' feature.
Click to expand...

And not sure exactly happened when OP mentioned DFU restore. Correct me if incorrect as I have never done this, but, isn't there an update option when doing DFU, i.e., reloads OS but does not clear user information out? If there is a corrupt plist on the device, and did DFU update, that plist might still be sitting there. A complete erase of the device and then sign-in with Apple ID would help point to bug or something in user's setup/profile.
 
This seems to be the case with a number of Apple services I've known others complain about. For example, if you disable iMessage, each time you (re)sign into a iOS device the service is automatically re-enabled. I would say it's a design flaw more than malice, but still irritating.
 
Last edited:
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mporcheron said:
This seems to be the case with a number of Apple services I've known others complain about.
Click to expand...

True. Maps, until one the recent updates, would keep repopulating Recents from the cloud account after deleting entries. I've had billing information not update correctly across Apple's services.
 
Mine has been turned on for a long time and I visit the App Store all the time. I looked at the setting just now and it's still on. Seems like a bug to me for the OP.
 
cynics said:
Limit ad tracking is tied to your AppleID (as mentioned by Apple) and sync'd via Apple/iCloud servers to your other devices. So if I toggle it on my iPhone I can watch it toggle on both my iPads seemingly on its own.

If one of your devices isn't accessible or has a problem with its iCloud log in it wont send the confirmation back to Apple and allow you to toggle it on your iPhone. If the loading thing spins for a long time that can just mean one of your devices is not online for whatever reason.

I suggest verifying all your devices are online and logging onto iCloud.com to make sure there isn't an iOS device you no longer use still on there. If so delete it so its not blocking the request. Worst case scenario on of your other iOS devices is having problems with iCloud authentication and you'll need to log out and back into iCloud.

Seems like you've done everything else so I'm assuming this is your issue.

Good luck.
Click to expand...


Thanks for your post and your idea, unfortunatley I only own one device.

After putting up with the issue for some time, I borrowed an iPad to test the 'bug' and the issue persisted.

In addition as above, this occurs when tested with a new Apple ID.



TiggrToo said:
I'm calling this a bug as opposed to the paranoia that Apple's deliberately stalking anyone. Just checked my 11.4 iPhone 7 plus, Limit was ON. Went into the App store (42 updates - yikes :eek:) then back out to Privacy - the setting was still ON.

Yet again we have a case of someone calling wolf because they don't know the difference between a bug and a 'as designed' feature.
Click to expand...

I agree this is a bug.

However, my statement still stands 'So much for Apple Privacy !!!' since the switch is not doing what it should for a number of users and our privacy is therefore effected.

If I decide to switch on 'Limit Ad Tracking' then ON should mean ON.

"doesn't know the difference betwen a bug an a 'as designed' feature?"

Are you saying it is 'designed' to be deceptive and ignore my choice?

I disagree, it's just a bug :rolleyes:

It's not a case of calling wolf. This is a significant privacy issue for a number of users. There are several posts on this forum, many on discussions.apple, two threads on reddit and various other forums. All with users experiencing the same issue. And after all the chest beating from Apple lately about respecting users privacy, this is a valid response.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...nd-improvements.2112430/page-16#post-25973752

https://forums.imore.com/ios-11/402640-limit-ad-tracking-did-you-notice.html

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8390320

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8374113

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/7ya1wi/limit_ad_tracking_being_disabled_unexpectedly/


NoBoMac said:
And not sure exactly happened when OP mentioned DFU restore. Correct me if incorrect as I have never done this, but, isn't there an update option when doing DFU, i.e., reloads OS but does not clear user information out? If there is a corrupt plist on the device, and did DFU update, that plist might still be sitting there. A complete erase of the device and then sign-in with Apple ID would help point to bug or something in user's setup/profile.
Click to expand...

Hi, no that's not the case with DFU / Recovery Mode.

DFU (Device Firmware Upgrade) is part of SecureROM with iBSS and iTunes Integrity Checks etc. It's the only way to fully erase and restore the device, resintalling the firmware too. Whereas Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings will just restore the device insitu without firmware being resinstalled and image checked.
 
If you're so set on its an Apple bug, why not report it to them instead of seemingly intentionally, taking to Macrumors to start a "dramatic" thread just cause?

Just report the damn "bug" no need for baity titles etc..

FWIW mine stays on fine..
 
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Yakanina said:
Thanks for your post and your idea, unfortunatley I only own one device.

After putting up with the issue for some time, I borrowed an iPad to test the 'bug' and the issue persisted.

In addition as above, this occurs when tested with a new Apple ID.
Click to expand...

Hmm that is strange. I'm at a loss. Have you contacted Apple? Sarcasm aside they try to take privacy seriously and you should be able to get escalated to higher tier support fairly quickly.

There could be something wrong with the identifier of the iOS device that is preventing its ad tracking identifier from being set to 'null'. Could also be an issue with your AppleID account. Not saying this is the case but if you owe Apple money they can block/cripple all sorts of communication to their servers, again not something I'm accusing you of just something to be aware of.
 
Yun0 said:
If you're so set on its an Apple bug, why not report it to them instead of seemingly intentionally, taking to Macrumors to start a "dramatic" thread just cause?

Just report the damn "bug" no need for baity titles etc..

FWIW mine stays on fine..
Click to expand...


'So much for Apple Privacy !!!' is a statement of fact alerting others to an issue which is effecting a number of people. It is a serious privacy issue considering that data that is harvested when 'Limit Ad Tracking is OFF. The one place that Apple does sell advertising News and the App Store is the one place some users cannot control their advertising preferences. Hence the 'dramatic' thread :rolleyes:

I and other users are having our choice to 'Limit Ad Tracking' revoked without our knowledge or permission and therfore the follwing data can be obtained.

  • keyboard language settings
  • device type
  • OS version
  • mobile carrier
  • connection type
  • your location
  • App Store Searches
  • Articles you read
  • Your name
  • address
  • age
  • devices registered to your account
  • phone number
  • email
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205223


If you had bothered to read the original post you would have seen that "As usual calling Apple Technical support was a waste of time, they are clueless" this includes 'Senior Techincal Support' and the inner circle 'Apple Engineering'.

It seems to be a very small group of people who are effected so far, but for those people it is a privacy issue.
 
Interesting. I just checked and mine was disabled when I’ve previously had it enabled. I’ve just re-enabled it and it seems to be fine now.
 
Yakanina said:
'So much for Apple Privacy !!!' is a statement of fact alerting others to an issue which is effecting a number of people. It is a serious privacy issue considering that data that is harvested when 'Limit Ad Tracking is OFF. The one place that Apple does sell advertising News and the App Store is the one place some users cannot control their advertising preferences. Hence the 'dramatic' thread :rolleyes:

I and other users are having our choice to 'Limit Ad Tracking' revoked without our knowledge or permission and therfore the follwing data can be obtained.

  • keyboard language settings
  • device type
  • OS version
  • mobile carrier
  • connection type
  • your location
  • App Store Searches
  • Articles you read
  • Your name
  • address
  • age
  • devices registered to your account
  • phone number
  • email
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205223


If you had bothered to read the original post you would have seen that "As usual calling Apple Technical support was a waste of time, they are clueless" this includes 'Senior Techincal Support' and the inner circle 'Apple Engineering'.

It seems to be a very small group of people who are effected so far, but for those people it is a privacy issue.
Click to expand...

That data is already obtained regardless. The difference is Apple uses it to put your identifier in a ad group, they call it “segment”. They use a group of 5000 or more users with similar characteristics, taste and traits for advertisers to market relevant ads too. They specifically say in your link they don’t sell your data (and certainly don’t give it away of course lol). An advertiser doesn’t get your name and address if that is your fear. They get a group of specifics example men that like football, repair their own vehicles, like eating out a lot, buy expensive suits, etc... this way an advertiser marketing tampons doesn’t waste their time and money on you.

I do agree though, it’s a problem that should be fixed.
 
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