Apple will ask for permission to enable Personalized Ads on iOS 15. This is Apple's way of showing relevant ads in Apple News and the App Store. It does this by analysing what you have read, purchased, and searched for on your device (via9to5Mac). The company previously collected this information automatically, but it now plans to request permission. Apple demanded permission from other developers for the App Tracking Transparency debut, so it appears that Apple is demonstrating that it will adhere to a similar standard.
If you are using the latest iOS 15 beta, the Personalized Ads popup should appear when you open the App Shop. Apple claims that the ads will help users discover relevant apps, products and services. However, privacy is protected by using device-generated identifiers, which are not linked to your Apple ID.
Apple's Advertising policy states that the sources it uses to target ads can vary. They may include your device information (including where you are located if you have granted permission), App Store searches, purchases and news stories you read on Apple News. You can also link to the company's policy in the Settings app.
This is Apple's smallest gesture towards treating its developers the same as it treats them. Developers all have to request to be tracked under the controversial App Tracking Transparency Policy. 9to5Mac points out that Apple's closed-loop first party ad targeting is technically not subject to those restrictions. Developer apps, however, may share the information they collect with other parties.
Apples rule over other developers: You have to ask users whether they would like to be tracked in order to target ads.
But Apples own ad tracking is personalization, which sounds much less nefarious https://t.co/hsAQuT8zYb Alex Heath (@alexeheath) September 2, 2021
Apple's language choices are worth looking at, too. As Alex Heath, senior reporter for The Verge, notes, developers are required to ask users if they consent to their data being collected. However, Apple is permitted to refer to its actions as personalization.
This change could be seen as another minor concession to recent changes in what developers can link to in-app to address the antitrust scrutiny Apple is currently facing and will likely continue to face in the future. The ad-tracking popup is just a tiny piece of evidence that Apple might be trying to be fair, regardless of whether they are actually being fair in any meaningful manner.
