Technology
Stop those ad-tracking pop-ups on your iPhone – how to block EVERYTHING in one click
FED up of being asked to block ad-tracking when you open iPhone apps? There’s an easy way out.
Apple has an option that lets you automatically block all apps from tracking you across the web.
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Apple is going to force app-makers to ask you before tracking you online[/caption]
Right now, apps can assign you with a unique advertising ID.
This can follow you around the internet – and across apps.
It’s ostensibly designed to make ads more relevant to you, but the scale of data collection means it’s bad for your privacy.
Apple has already scuppered this tracking on the Safari web browser, which has been able to block across-web tracking for a while.
The new feature is bundled into the latest version of iOS 14[/caption]
But the new iOS 14.5 update has done the same thing for apps on your iPhone.
It means a major advertiser like Facebook will no longer be able to “virtually” follow you around the web, to build up a picture of your lifestyle, spending habits and more.
“We believe users should have the choice over the data that is being collected about them and how it’s used,” said Apple chief Tim Cook in a tweet late last year.
“Facebook can continue to track users across apps and websites as before.
“App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 will just require that they ask for your permission first.”
You can already turn off this ad-tracking across apps on a large scale.
But the new update forces specific apps to explicitly ask you for your permission to track you.
And if you don’t want Facebook following you around online, you can simply tell it not to.
Of course, this can get annoying – so there’s a way to stop your iPhone repeatedly asking your for every app.
The new iOS 14.5 update has been available for a few weeks, and can be downloaded globally.
How to turn off ad-tracking
The new system is very simple.
When you load up an app for the first time after the update, you’ll see a pop-up.
This notification will appear if the app you’re using wants to track your activity across other apps and websites.
In the pop-up, the app-maker has a chance to explain why it wants to track you.
And then you can either allow the tracking, or ask the app not to virtually follow you around.
If you change your mind later on, you can edit your choice.
Simply go into your iPhone settings and find the app you’re looking to tweak, and then change your choice.
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Most read in Science
In other news, check out our new iMac review.
We also tested the new iPad Pro 2021.
You can get a free Apple Music upgrade very soon.
And take a look at some of the best hidden iOS 14.5 features on your iPhone.
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