EU advertisers criticize tracking privacy controls for new apps on iOS 14

A Google-backed group of European digital advertising associations has criticized Apple for requiring apps on iOS 14 to seek additional permission from users before crawling on other apps and websites, it reports. Reuters.

Sixteen marketing associations, some of which are backed by Alphabet’s Facebook and Google, criticized Apple for not adhering to an advertising industry system for seeking user consent under European privacy rules. Applications will now have to ask permission twice, increasing the risk that users will reject, the associations argued.

During the ‌iOS 14‌ preview at WWDC last week, Apple explained to developers several of its new user privacy features, including new app tracking and transparency controls.

Specifically, developers are now required to obtain user consent before tracking them down. When an app wants to track the user, a consent popup appears saying that the app “would like permission to track you through apps and websites owned by other companies.” Developers receive multiple lines below the main text to explain why the permission is sought.

The system requires apps to only need permission once, and users can see which apps have given their consent to track them in the Settings app, allowing them to change their preferences when necessary.

According to the report, the group of European marketing companies said the emerging warning and limited ability to customize it still carry “a high risk of user rejection.”

Last week, however, Apple engineers said the company would improve a free developer tool that uses anonymous and aggregated data to measure whether ad campaigns are working. The tool does not trigger the tracking popup because it is specifically designed not to track individual users.