Apple rolled out an iPhone update Monday that hands its customers a powerful tool to protect their privacy, and they have to choose not to use it. The opt-in tracking feature in iOS 14.5 is a threat to Facebook and other companies that harvest user data to sell targeted ads, and Facebook has been railing against Apple's move — and Apple — since the company announced its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature last June.
"One of the secrets of digital advertising is that companies like Facebook follow people's online habits as they click on other programs, like Spotify and Amazon, on smartphones," The New York Times explains. Now, Facebook and other apps have to ask permission to do this on updated iPhones — and users can turn off all tracking in the phone's privacy settings.
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