Starting early next year, iOS 14 will require apps to get opt-in permission from users to collect their random advertising identifier, which advertisers use to deliver personalized ads and track how effective their campaigns were.
This new requirement was actually set to go into effect by the end of 2020, but Apple delayed the introduction of the prompt until early 2021 to provide developers with more time to make the necessary changes. Regardless, some companies like Facebook are still unhappy about the upcoming change, and a group of advertising companies and publishers in France have gone as far as filing an antitrust complaint over the matter.
This pressure from some advertisers has led Firefox maker Mozilla to launch a new page in which it urges people to show their support for Apple's decision, so that it does not further delay. "We need a massive outpouring of support for Apple's decision to help strengthen its resolve to protect consumer privacy," says Mozilla. "Sign this thank you to let Apple know consumers are eagerly anticipating anti-tracking protection on iPhone."
Last year, Mozilla urged Apple to reset the unique IDs used to serve interest-based ads in the App Store and Apple News apps on a monthly basis. Mozilla now says that Apple "went even further than what Mozilla supporters had asked for," calling the planned anti-tracking changes a "huge win for consumers."
