Google hasn’t updated its iOS apps since December, when Apple’s new rules on the collection of data came into force. The company had previously said only that updates were underway, but now reveals more about the plans and what it will do when Apple’s even tougher rules on tracking are introduced this spring, reports 9to5Google.
According to the tracking policy, apps that track users outside the developer’s own domains, on other websites and in other apps, will have to ask the user for permission. If they say no, the app will have to show generic non-targeted advertising.
Google does not intend to seek permission in this way. Instead the company has chosen to stop using the IDFA code (Identifier For Advertisers) that iOS developers can use to recognise a particular device.
Unlike some other companies, Google has many other ways to track users. Those who are logged into their Google account in one of the apps and also, for example, in a web browser on a Mac can still be tracked.
Google will also soon add privacy labels to its apps, in accordance with the updated App Store rules.
The stricter privacy policies were originally announced with the launch of iOS 14 last summer, but were postponed to give advertisers more time to comply.
This article originally appeared on Macworld Sweden. Translation by David Price.