It is no secret that everything you do online is being tracked and analyzed.
Most websites collect basic aggregated information about their website visitors including location, browser, operating system, time spent on-site, where visitors came from, what they clicked on, page visited, how they got to your page, and other similar information.
This information is helpful for website managers because it can help determine what information and content people are looking for on your page. It can also help you spot issues or problems with your information or links.
Due to regulations in the European Union, websites have to ask permission to store certain information about you. As a best practice, website owners should always disclose what information they collect, how that information is used, what steps are being taken to protect that data, and the process for obtaining and deleting this information.
While analytics provide a basic understanding of who your visitors are and what they are looking for, that information is also used to determine what advertisements you are most likely to click on.
If you know someone who is looking for a particular product based on a website search then you can begin showing them advertisements based on that product or similar products. I am sure you have noticed this in action whenever you are searching for something and then go on to Facebook or Instagram and see posts related to that search.
With so many of us using smartphones and apps, our activities can also help serve better advertisements to us. Advertisers use a random device identifier (IDFA) assigned by Apple to deliver targeted advertisements. Using this random identifier prevents advertisers from seeing personal information, but still being able to serve targeted advertisements.
App tracking transparency allows an individual to make a decision on whether they want advertisements to be delivered based on what they do online. App tracking transparency requires an app to ask your permission before tracking you on other apps and services it does not own.
Facebook has been the most vocal opponent of Apple’s app tracking transparency. Facebook argues that this will prevent businesses from being able to reach their audience or potential customers. It will also hurt their bottom line. Apple argues that you should have control over what companies and apps do with your data.
App tracking transparency is a real threat to Facebook and apps that track users across apps and websites on their devices. According to a survey by AppsFlyer, opt-in rates to allow app tracking could be as high as 39%.
The true effects of app tracking transparency will depend on how many people opt out of app tracking. Since many apps and social media platforms rely on this data to serve ads this feature will undoubtedly have some effect on advertising revenue.
App tracking transparency is limited to iOS devices.
Joe Gullo