Apple officially announced the release of the iOS 14.5 and, along with it, the much-awaited feature concerning user's privacy and data tracking.

On Wednesday, Apr. 7, Tech Crunch reported the upcoming App Tracking Transparency feature would be enabled by default once an Apple device is updated to iOS 14.5.

The latest feature is Apple's answer to apps that make their fortune by collecting its users' data to be used for targeted ads.

Apple iOS 14.5's App Tracking Transparency Feature Explained

Digital Trends explained in an article published on Wednesday, Apr. 7, that the App Tracking Transparency Feature would prompt users if a certain app would be allowed to track their activity.

The user will then be given the option to allow or refuse activity tracking and view which apps were permitted to track their online activity.

iPhone users that had updated to the latest iOS update have already experienced the App Tracking Transparency feature in action.

Moreover, the feature that will come with the iOS 14.5 update will enforce new rules; users may encounter tracking requests more frequently.

The latest feature will not be limited to the user's IDFA identifier, as developers made sure that all other identifiers companies use to track activities will be stopped as well.

However, the App Tracking Transparency feature will not be able to control companies to track user activity across its own multiple platforms.

Apple clarified that the App Tracking Transparency feature will also be implemented on their own apps.

Also Read: Apple iOS 14.5 Blocks Fingerprint Tracker Apps that Create Unknown Profile 

Criticisms Surrounding the App Tracking Transparency Feature

Apple's highly anticipated App Tracking Transparency feature had met criticisms, especially from Facebook.

In a December 2020 blog post, Facebook expressed its disagreement with Apple's decision to launch the transparency feature.

Facebook argued that Apple's approach hints that there is a tradeoff between privacy and personalized advertising and that the latter does not provide any context about the benefits of ad tracking.

The blog also said that the social media giant would show a prompt of its own to help users make a more informed decision.

Additionally, Facebook said that the new feature would hurt small businesses and publishers who heavily rely on targeted ads.

"These changes will directly affect their ability to use their advertising budgets efficiently and effectively," the blog reads, adding that small businesses' sales would be cut to over 60 percent.

Facebook also stressed that the App Tracking Transparency feature will force businesses to switch to in-app payments or subscriptions for revenue, and many free services will be forced to either start charging or exit the market entirely.

Ultimately, the blog points out that the App Tracking Transparency feature is never about the user's privacy, as it will ultimately make Apple profit from small businesses that were forced to abide by the upcoming feature.

Related Article: iOS 14.5's PAC Security Tool Prevents Malicious Codes; Does It Mean No More Zero-Click Hacking? 

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Lee Mercado