LinkedIn to Stop Collecting IDFA Data from iOS Devices in respect to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Feature

Apple announced a new App Tracking Transparency Feature which will be hitting on iOS devices in the coming spring. What this App Tracking Feature will do once launched is that each app present on the App Store and downloaded on your phone will have to ask for user consent in order to retrieve and share your data. All applications already downloaded on your phone will have to ask for user consent when opened for the first time after the feature goes live and new downloads will also take user consent before they start installing. Previously, applications retrieved and shared your data around for targeted advertisement and other purposes without the user’s knowledge and Apple thinks this is breach in the user privacy and to ensure that the privacy of all iOS users remain intact has come up with this App Tracking Transparency Feature.

While Apple has notified that all developers have to enable a notification which will ask for user consent to share data once this feature goes live. Developers for LinkedIn has some other plans.

LinkedIn announced that they will stop using the IDFA, also called “Identifier for Advertisements.” This is a program in applications which allows cross platform and cross app tracking between different applications by collecting user data and if a developer removes it permanently from their applications they will not have to ask for user consent from Apple users as their applications ability to share data around will finish.

The developing company LinkedIn said that once the company stops using the IDFA there will be slight changes in LinkedIn Audience Network (LAN), Conversion Tracking, and Matched Audiences, but the company assures you that there will not be any changes on your campaign set up.

This is great step from LinkedIn. Removing the use of IDFA will not have the users worry about their privacy and will save the company from updating to user consent notifications as well. Apart from LinkedIn, Google is also following on the same footsteps when they announced removing the use of their IDFA data in January while Twitter thinks asking for consent is the better option as it gives both parties a level at the playing field. However, all these applications have easily given in with the Apple’s new policy for App Tracking Transparency Facebook is still holding its ground claiming that Apple is using this feature for its own beneficial purposes and Facebook will not follow through as a lot of small businesses present on Facebook are dependent on that data for targeted ads of their businesses.

LinkedIn though has claimed that they will re-evaluate their collection of IDFA as they are committed to privacy-by-design principles that deliver value to their customers and provide a trusted experience for the members.


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