According to Reuters, Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) plans to require apps to seek additional permission from users before tracking them across other apps and websites and this has been criticized by an European digital advertising association.
The catch is that “Apps will now need to ask for permission twice, increasing the risk users will refuse’’
In its defence, Apple said the new feature was aimed at giving users greater transparency over how their information is being used.
Apple showed that developers can present any number of additional screens beforehand to explain why permission is needed before triggering its pop-up.
The pop-up says “would like permission to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies” and gives the app developer several lines below the main text to explain why the permission is sought.
“It is not required until an app seeks access to a numeric identifier that can be used for tracking, and apps only need to secure permission once,’’ the associations said.
The group said the pop-up warning and the limited ability to customise it still carries “a high risk of user refusal.”
Apple engineers also said last week the company will bolster a free Apple-made tool that uses anonymous, aggregated data to measure whether advertising campaigns are working and that will not trigger the pop-up.
“Because it’s engineered to not track users, there’s no need to request permission to track,” Brandon Van Ryswyk, an Apple privacy engineer, said in a video session explaining the measurement tool to developers.
