Apple today reminded developers that it will begin enforcing its App Tracking Transparency rules as of the launch of iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and tvOS 14.5.
Make sure your apps are ready for iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and tvOS 14.5. With the upcoming public release, all apps must use the AppTrackingTransparency framework to request the user’s permission to track them or to access their device’s advertising identifier. Unless you receive permission from the user to enable tracking, the device’s advertising identifier value will be all zeros and you may not track them.
When submitting your app for review, any other form of tracking — for example, by name or email address — must be declared in the product page’s App Store Privacy Information section and be performed only if permission is granted through AppTrackingTransparency. You’ll also need to include a purpose string in the system prompt to explain why you’d like to track the user, per App Store Review Guideline 5.1.2(i). These requirements apply to all apps starting with the public release of iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and tvOS 14.5.
As a reminder, collecting device and usage data with the intent of deriving a unique representation of a user, or fingerprinting, continues to be a violation of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement.
Once the app updates are released, developers will be required to get the user’s permission before tracking their data across apps or websites owned by other companies. Under Settings, users will be able to see which apps have requested permission to track and make changes as they see fit.
Users will see prompts that include options to “Allow Tracking” or “Ask App not to Track” when opening apps that wish to track their activity.
When a user selects “Ask App not to Track,” the app will be blocked from accessing the user’s IDFA. The developer is also required to respect the user’s tracking preference overall and is not allowed to use other methods to track the user. Developers that violate the app tracking rules could see their app removed from the App Store.
The released date for the iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and tvOS 14.5 updates have not been officially released, but Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an interview earlier this afternoon that iOS 14.5 will be coming in “just a few weeks.”