The new operating system for our iPhone, iOS 17, recently presented at WWDC23, is giving a lot to talk about. A lot of new features such as the ability to record our mood, customize our contact poster or create an animated sticker from any photo are getting all the attention. And yet, there is one feature that no one is talking about and that can be a more than remarkable change for an entire industry.
Advertising with privacy is possible
In iOS 17, Apple has once again taken privacy a step further with an essential feature that has gone unnoticed by many: Link Tracking Protection. This innovative tool is part of its latest operating systems, iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, and represents yet another triumph for internet privacy.
Websites, advertising services and analytics companies have found ingenious ways to track our online activity, even when conventional protection methods are used. One of the most widespread tactics is the incorporation of tracking parameters in links. These parameters, which are appended to the end of the URL, allow advertising or analytics services to track user activity across different web pages, bypassing features such as Safari’s intelligent tracking prevention, which blocks cookies and other session storage methods.
By tapping on a URL with tracking parameters, the advertising or analytics service can read the URL, extract the parameters and associate them with the user profile in their database. In this way, they can serve personalized ads based on the user’s online activity and continue to collect data on our browsing patterns.
Faced with this situation, with which we could do little about until now, iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma are determined to put a stop to this practice with the introduction of Link Tracking Protection. This tool detects tracking parameters in URLs and removes them automatically. When does it do this? The protection is always enabled in Mail and Messages and is activated when we browse in Safari using private mode.
One of the most important aspects of this feature is its ability to discern which parts of the URL are intended for tracking and remove only those parts, leaving the rest of the URL and its other parameters intact. In this way, we will always be able to reach the web page we intended to visit, but without leaving an identifiable trace for data collection companies. The process, for us as users, is totally invisible.
Companies like DuckDuckGo, the privacy-focused search engine, have already demonstrated that it is possible to maintain an advertising-based business without compromising user privacy. In this sense – as did the App Tracking Transparency feature, which allows us to stop apps from tracking us outside of themselves – this iOS 17 enhancement may represent a nice change for the advertising and data collection and sales industry.
Along with the presentation of this new protection feature, Apple has introduced the Private Click Measurement system. A tool that allows advertisers to track conversion metrics of ad campaigns without having to disclose individual user activity. This strikes a balance between protecting user privacy and the need for advertisers to measure the success of their campaigns. Something that Apple has been pushing for years because the purpose is not to do away with advertising, far from it, but to make it respect our privacy.
With the addition of Link Tracking Protection in iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, Apple has taken another step towards greater privacy on the web and in our applications. A breakthrough that is a significant win for all users and is slowly changing one of the world’s largest industries for the better.
Some of the links added in the article are part of affiliate campaigns and may represent benefits for Softonic.
