Apple has just rolled out a new privacy feature for iPhones and iPads that offers users more control over their data.
In a move that was fiercely opposed by Facebook, Apple's latest software update includes a new App Tracking Transparency feature.
Privacy commissioner John Edwards talks to Afternoons about the move and what it means for users' personal data.
Photo: 123RF
Listen to the full interview with John Edwards
Edwards explains that the feature will require any app on your phone that tracks you across other apps to get your explicit consent.
“When you open an app, it’s going to tell you what the app intends to do and, if you don’t want it to, you can turn that tracking off.”
He says it’s another further step in giving consumers more choices about how they engage with these services and making the trade-off more transparent.
“If you’re getting some benefit from the app, you can make a really clear decision about whether it’s worth it for the level of tracking that it also involves.”
The new feature is called the IDFA – identifier for advertisers. As the privacy commissioner, Edwards says he’s not for or against saying no to tracking, but he supports people understanding and being made aware of the trade-off they’re making.
“I applaud Apple for the forced transparency because I think if you’re basing a business model on people not understanding, then that’s unfair and duplicitous. We’ve seen enormous objections to what Apple’s doing which seems to be based on an assumption that, if people really knew what was going to happen, they wouldn’t authorise the tracking.
“Now that’s creepy. They should have enough confidence in the value add for the consumer that they can be open with them and say, if you authorise this tracking, here’s how we’re able to a better service.”
Edwards says there’s an assumption that tracking is a relatively benign way of targeting advertising toward a user, but he says there are agencies behind the scenes that will make behavioural observations and assumptions about what you want to do in the world.
“Some of the applications, it seems to me, are not as intelligent as we think. If you google a particular brand of lawn mower or fridge and purchase it, there seems to be very little point to try and continue selling you the appliance again and again.
“But that sort of targeting is getting more sophisticated and it is being used for more purposes than simply selling us stuff. We’ve seen that people are able to segment a market to influence them in different ways in terms of voting or their attitudes to different issues. I think the more transparency we can get, the better.”
Given the pushback by other major tech companies like Facebook, Edwards says the move shows that Apple is making a huge bet that consumers want privacy.
“They’re saying this is what they think the future of the internet is. It has to value end-users privacy and demonstrate respect. They’re betting that people are going to be using their services and product and make a decision based on respect for privacy.
“It’s going to be really interesting to see how that plays out. It’s also going to be really interesting to see how Facebook and other advertisers accommodate this because they will have to. It’s an enormous market and they won’t want to just lock out half the devices.”