Apple has often positioned itself apart from its fellow tech giants as a company that values privacy. The company had introduced its iOS 14.5 OS for mobile and tablet devices in April. The new update had introduced a new feature to Apple’s devices, ‘Ask App Not To Track.’
But Johnny Lin, a former Apple engineer and co-founder of the software company Lockdown Privacy says that the feature only gives "a false sense of privacy” as it doesn’t always work, reported the Wall Street Journal.
A study by Lockdown Privacy found that while users had enabled the option to prevent tracking by apps and websites on their devices, some apps were still collecting user data.
"We found that App Tracking Transparency made no difference in the total number of active third-party trackers," the study says. "We further confirmed that detailed personal or device data was being sent to trackers in almost all cases."
One popular app that is still tracking user data despite the not-to-track option being enabled is the popular mobile game app Subway Surfer. The company’s developer, Sybo, told the Washington Post that "in order for the game to function properly, some data is communicated to Ad Networks," but offered no clarity on why personal data was required for the app to run.
"As a company, we do not track users for advertising purposes without their consent," Sybo added.
"When the user selects 'Ask App Not to Track,' the app is informed that the user would not like to be tracked by any means, and all developers -- including Apple -- are strictly required to comply with the user's choice," an Apple spokesperson told Insider.
"If we discover that a developer is not honouring the user's choice, we will work with the developer to address the issue, or they will be removed from the App Store,” the spokesperson added.
The recent study highlights that while Apple has positioned itself as a
champion of privacy among a slew of tech giants that wish to exploit and collect user data, its actual protection of privacy falls far short of its claims.
(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)
