The so-called ATT feature would require apps to get permission from users before tracking them, a privacy improvement that Apple has said it will roll out in the spring. The move has been fiercely opposed by Facebook, which expects most users to refuse to be tracked.
But earlier reports indicated that there are already Chinese App companies testing workarounds to bypass ATT. Apple is said to have issued warnings to at least two mainland Chinese app developers, which are testing ways to track users without their permission. Apple previously said that its app store would reject any app that “ignores user choice.
In an email to the mainland Chinese developers, Apple wrote: “We found that your apps collect user and device information to create unique identifiers for users’ devices.” Apple then asked developers to make improvements within 14 days to comply or their apps could be taken down from the app store.
Jackie Singh, a former senior cybersecurity officer, said the warnings show that Apple has the ability to use automated tools to detect violations of its privacy guidelines. “Apple clearly has the technical ability to deny the presence of certain apps in its ecosystem that are designed to identify users and track their behavior outside of Apple’s ‘walled garden,'” she said.
Apple’s move is an attempt to nip in the bud resistance to its push for new privacy policies, a move that has met with resistance among developers around the world, many of whom offer free apps and make money by advertising them.
Apple’s new policy will hurt the advertising industry’s ability to verify its traffic,” said one marketing industry veteran who asked not to be named. In mainland China, many companies have been testing CAID schemes, but Apple’s recent action will prevent those tests.” Companies such as Baidu, ByteDance, and Tencent are reportedly testing or deploying CAID schemes.
If the latest privacy efforts are undermined, it will put the $2 trillion market cap tech giant in a difficult position. Alasdair Pressney, director of product strategy at AdColony, a mobile in-app network and marketplace, said, “Apple’s move has unnerved many Chinese companies, which could stop its rapid growth in mainland China over the past decade and disrupt its supply chain.”
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