Apple will strengthen apps’ respect for user privacy, forcing developers to be more transparent in the way they collect data. Apple also warned that its apps could be removed if they fail to comply with a new measure against digital tracking, a company executive and regulatory authorities said Tuesday.
The tech giant said it is ready to implement anti-data tracking next year and warned that it could kick apps that don’t meet its requirements from its widely used App Store.
In compliance with the so-called transparency of app tracking, Apple will require apps to clearly ask for users’ permission before collecting their data. It was scheduled to launch this year, but was delayed to allow developers more time to make changes.
“Their goal is to empower our users to decide if and when they want to allow an application to track them in a way that can be shared with other companies’ applications or websites,” said Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi. .
“Developers who do not comply with the standard could see their applications withdrawn” from the App Store, Federighi said in a keynote speech at the European Conference on Data Protection and Privacy, which was held online.
Privacy advocates say the measure is a vital step that could strengthen respect for privacy, but tech rivals like Facebook – which make money from digital advertising that relies on user browsing – have rejected the measure. .
Federighi said that technology users should have the power to better control the use of their own data and dismiss the arguments of advertisers and technology companies that the anti-tracking feature will harm the online advertising industry.
“When invasive monitoring is your business model, you don’t usually appreciate transparency or the customer’s right of choice,” he said.
–
