SAN RAMON, California (AP) – Apple says it will introduce new privacy controls in the spring to prevent iPhone apps from secretly shadowing people. The delay in the expected implementation is aimed at satisfying Facebook and other digital services that rely on such data aggregation to sell ads.
Although Apple did not provide a specific date, the general timetable announced on Thursday means a long-awaited feature known as App Tracking Transparency. will be part of an iPhone software update that is likely to come in late March or sometime in April.
After the planned deployment of security was delayed in September, amid a call led by Facebook, Apple said earlier that it would appear earlier this year. Apple unveiled the latest update as part of Data Privacy Day, which will greet CEO Tim Cook during a speech scheduled for a technology conference in Europe on Thursday.
Apple has stopped giving Facebook and other app manufacturers more time to adapt to a feature that requires iPhone users to give their express permission to be tracked. Analysts expect a significant number of users to deny permission as soon as it requires their permission. Currently, iPhone users are regularly tracked by apps they install, unless they take the extra step of going to iPhone settings to prevent it.
Facebook intensified its attacks about Apple’s new privacy controls last month in a series of full-page ads in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other national newspapers. The campaign suggested that free digital services would be weakened if they could not compile personal information to customize ads. Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive on Wednesday, questioned Apple’s motives for the changes, saying the iPhone maker had “every incentive” to use its own mobile platform to mix opponents into its own messaging app.
“Apple may say it’s doing it to help people, but the movements are clearly keeping an eye on their competing interests,” Zuckerberg said.
Google, which also relies on personal data to power the Internet’s largest advertising network, did not join Facebook in its criticism of Apple’s upcoming tracking controls. Google takes advantage of the fact that it is the default search engine on the iPhone, a valued position for which Apple pays between $ 9 and $ 12 billion annually to Apple.
But Google warned in a Wednesday blog post that Apple’s new controls will have a significant impact on advertising revenue generated by iPhones in its digital network. Google said a “handful” of its iPhone apps are affected by the new requirement, but not which one is identified.
“We remain committed to maintaining a vibrant and open app ecosystem where people have access to a wide range of ad-supported content with the confidence that their privacy and choices are respected,” said Christophe Combette, Google Ads Group Product Manager, writing.
Apple also released an 11-page report to illustrate how much apps can learn about their users in daily life.
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AP author Barbara Ortutay contributed to this story from Oakland, California.