Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Becomes Facebook's Nightmare: Only 4% Allow Tracking

It isn't the best of times for Facebook, more so after Apple introduced the App Tracking Transparency feature. The feature gave more power to iPhone users and privacy activists. Users can now stop apps from tracking their activity on their iPhone and iPad, which was the main gateway for ad targeting.

The App Tracking Transparency feature was introduced on iOS 14.5 and has shifted the ad targetting dynamics in the industry. A report by Flurry Analytics, which is owned by Verizon Media, reveals that most of the US population has declined permission for apps to track them. The report further reveals that only 4 percent of the population has allowed apps to track them.

Users Decline Apps From Tracking Them

Going further into the details, Flurry Analytics, as the name suggests, is an analytics tool platform. The company says its tools are installed in roughly one million apps. Ever since Apple rolled out the iOS 14.5 update, Flurry has been tracking the opt-in rate among users since the launch. The company has collected data from 2.5 million devices, mostly based out in the US.

Gathering intel from this data, Flurry Analytics states that only 4 percent of users in the US have allows apps to continue tracking their activity. The majority of the population, on the other hand, have simply said no thanks! The report further states that the average daily opt-ins is higher worldwide, which is around 12 percent.

Apple App Tracking Transparency Explained

As the name suggests, the new App Tracking Transparency is a feature that gives more power to the user. Earlier, there wasn't really an option to stop apps from tracking the user data, until the iOS 14.5 update. Apple is now popping up an option when you open an app, asking if you want to be tracked by this app.

Users can select either of the options: Yes, allow the app to track your activities, or No, don't track me. Plus, iPhone and iPad users who never want to be tracked across all apps can head over to the Settings > Privacy > Tracking, and toggle "Allow Apps to Request to Track" off. As simple as it seems, the report by Flurry Analytics reveals another truth.

The data reveals that only about 3 percent of iOS users in the U.S. have taken advantage of that feature. The rest are simply saying no only when the pop-up message appears. To note, turning off the tracking activity entirely requires users to proactively change the settings.

App Tracking And Facebook Worries: Does It Affect Indians?

For the unaware, Facebook is one of the prominent companies that use their app to track the user's activity. Facebook in turn uses this data for ad tracking and it's all business. Ever since the App Tracking Transparency was introduced, Facebook has been a vocal opponent as it shakes its entire business structure.

On the other hand, the entire App Tracking feature could mean nothing to Indian users. That's because a large portion of the Indian population uses Android smartphones with no such feature! Simply put, Facebook or advertisers needn't worry about its business in India, at least until Google also brings in something like this!