Apple Delays Implementation of 'iOS Ad Tracking Blocking Feature' Feared by Facebook

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Joselgina] Apple has decided to postpone the introduction of the tracking prevention feature, which was planned to be applied to the iPhone operating system iOS this fall as part of enhanced privacy protection policies, until early next year. This is to give application developers time to respond.

According to the economic media CNBC, on the 3rd (local time), Apple announced that it will delay changes to the iOS feature that could affect Facebook and other mobile advertisers' ability to track users' mobile activities until early next year.

Apple assigns a unique identifier called IDFA to each device for advertisers, who use it to track iPhone and iPad users' search activities and app usage records to deliver personalized ads. However, personal information that can identify users is not disclosed in this process.

However, Apple plans to strengthen privacy features by allowing iPhone users to choose whether to permit an app to access the IDFA when they open the app for the first time. This was announced by Apple last June, and at that time, Facebook expressed dissatisfaction, saying that if such a feature were included in the iPhone operating system, its main revenue source, advertising revenue, could be halved.

Apple stated, "We promised to let users choose whether apps track their activities," and added, "To give developers time to prepare, starting early next year, apps will be required to obtain approval when tracking users."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.