How to stop apps from tracking you for advertising in iOS 14.5

If you’ve seen any of the recent reporting over privacy controls on iOS, you probably know that everyone from Facebook to your corner store is probably paying for your data in order to sell ads to you more effectively. Apple’s had enough, and in iOS 14.5, has introduced more robust privacy controls that can limit which apps can buy your data.

It’s called App Tracking Transparency, and it lets you stop apps from tracking you while you install them for the first time. That stops those app developers from tracking you outside of their own app. Will toggling this setting to ‘off’ stop Facebook from tracking you even while inside their own apps? Who knows, really, but the new feature really got someone over at Facebook HQ pissed, which is a net positive in my book.

Here’s how to tell the apps that want to track you to take a hike.

Here’s how to control which apps can track you for advertising purposes in iOS 14.5

One thing before we continue, some users are experiencing a bug where the App Tracking Transparency toggle is grayed out, or it doesn’t respond when interacted with.

If that happens to you, Apple is probably working on a fix so it might turn up in the next iOS update.

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1. Open up Settings

2. Scroll down to Privacy and tap on it, then on Tracking

3. You’ll get a list of every app that’s asked for the permission to track you

   

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4. Tap any you want to revoke permissions for

5. Tap the toggle next to Allow Apps to Request to Track if you want apps to no longer be able to even request to track you

Now that apps on your iPhone aren’t able to track your habits for advertising purposes, you’ll be back to the non-specific ads for off-brand erectile dysfunction aids like the rest of us. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere. His hobbies include photography, animation, and hoarding Reddit gold.