14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has officially released iOS 14.5, the biggest software update since iOS 14, and one of the most important additions is the new so-called App Tracking Transparency.
This new feature allows users to ask apps not to track them across websites and other apps, and needless to say, it has already attracted a ton of criticism from advertisers and other companies like Facebook.
But Apple says it’s all for protecting users’ privacy, and in a video published this week, the company details how exactly it works, clearly in an attempt to set things clear and defend its decision to implement these privacy controls in iOS.
Apple explains that while some apps collect basic information about you, others build a profile that is then shared with other companies and sold to third-parties.
Other features in iOS 14.5
You are becoming a product, Apple says, and this is important to be able to choose whether you want to be tracked or not.
“App Tracking Transparency requires apps to get the user’s permission before tracking their data across apps or websites owned by other companies for advertising, or sharing their data with data brokers. Apps can prompt users for permission, and in Settings, users will be able to see which apps have requested permission to track so they can make changes to their choice at any time,” Apple explains in the release notes of the new operating system update.
iOS 14.5 also comes with a series of other new features, including an option to unlock iPhones with a connected Apple Watch. This makes a lot of sense given the global health issue, as a Face ID-protected iPhone can’t be unlocked when wearing a mask, so a paired Apple Watch gives users a more convenient alternative to just providing the passcode when they want to use the phone.
