A number of iOS app developers, including Meta Platforms Inc. and Snap Inc., reportedly continue to collect user-level signals from iPhones despite Apple Inc.’s recent introduction of features designed to boost privacy.

The Financial Times reported the practice today. According to the publication, the fact that iOS developers can continue collecting user-level signals represents an “unacknowledged shift” in Apple’s privacy policy.

Apple in April launched a new version of its mobile operating system, iOS 14.5, that introduced a feature called App Tracking Transparency. The feature allows users to choose whether or not an app may track their activity across other companies’ apps and websites for advertising purposes. Before collecting users’ data, an app must display a menu that allows users to permit tracking or opt out. 

Some companies follow a “much looser interpretation” of Apple’s privacy policy regarding app-based tracking, the Financial Times reported. Apple’s rules specify that apps “may not derive data from a device for the purpose of uniquely identifying it.” However, the iPhone maker reportedly does allow iOS developers to collect data from iPhones so long as the information they gather is anonymized and aggregated.

In practice, Apple’s policy reportedly means that app makers can’t gather data to deliver targeted ads to a specific user, but they can deliver targeted ads to groups of users, or “cohorts.” It’s reportedly unclear whether the iPhone maker has officially approved the practice. But several major app developers including Snapchat operator Snap and Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook Inc., have been allowed to keep sharing user-level signals from iPhone so long as the data is anonymized and aggregated.

Meta Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg has reportedly stated that the social network is pursuing a multiyear initiative to retool its advertising infrastructure with a focus on “using more aggregate or anonymized data.” Snap is also revamping its ad operations. According to today’s report, the company has informed investors that it intends to use data collected about its users, including those who have opted out of tracking, to help brands more effectively monitor the performance of advertising campaigns.

Similarly to Apple, Google LLC announced new privacy policies for Android this year. The search giant said in May that it will require Android developers to disclose what user data their apps collect and what for. Google indicated that it will also take a number of other steps to improve privacy, including giving developers the option of passing their apps’ privacy sections through an independent third-party audit.

In parallel, Google is working to phase out the third-party cookies that some advertisers use to collect data for ad delivery purposes. The search giant hopes to replace third-party cookies in its Chrome browser with a suite of technologies called Privacy Sandbox.

Privacy Sandbox aims to reduce the amount of data that advertisers can collect, while still enabling them to continue personalizing promotions according to consumer preferences. Privacy Sandbox has drawn scrutiny from multiple regulatory agencies worldwide, including the U.K. ‘s antitrust watchdog. Google recently proposed a series of changes to address the concerns raised by U.K. antitrust officials.

The ad targeting polices of Google and Apple draw significant attention because the companies are two of the biggest players in the consumer technology landscape. As a consequence of their prominent role in the market, changes the companies make to their ad policies can have a major impact on the multibillion-dollar digital advertising industry. The App Tracking Transparency feature that Apple rolled out at the start of the year, for instance, is estimated to have cost social media companies about $10 billion in revenue. 

Image: Apple