Apple Will Ban All Apps That Offer Rewards to Users for Enabling App Tracking

Apple yesterday rolled out the much-awaited iOS 14.5 update for iPhone and iPad users. The iOS 14.5 update brought a much-awaited App Tracking Transparency feature that will give users the option of opting out of third-party apps tracking them online. Now, the Cupertino-based giant has said that it will ban and reject apps on the App Store that attempt to offer users monetary incentives to enable tracking through App Tracking Transparency. App Tracking Transparency is a new framework on iOS and iPadOS 14.5 that requires apps to ask for a user’s permission before tracking them across other apps and websites. Users are shown a pop-up which gives them two options – “Ask App Not to Track” and “Allow.” Following the release of ATT, Apple also updated its Human Interface Guidelines with a new section called “Accessing User Data.” In this section, the company outlines the design policies that all apps must follow when they attempt to ask a user for their permission to access personal data, device compatibilities like microphone and camera, and consent to track them across apps and websites.