Apple retards portions of iOS 14, details for app privacy

Apple’s recent announcement is sure to provide a much-needed sigh of relief for the digital advertising industry which has been reeling since announcements at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. While the final release schedule for iOS 14 itself is still up in the air, app developers will have more time to curate details for their new privacy information section on their App Store product pages and prepare for the implications of the AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) framework. 

Developers will be able to submit their updated privacy information via App Store Connect by the end of October, with rollout of the feature to the end-user by end of 2020. For the ATT framework, developers will not be required to obtain permission for tracking until early 2021. 

Also Read: iOS 14 IDFA changes, SKAdNetwork & future of the ad ecosystem

If iOS 14 still rolls out on schedule with the ATT framework in place, but not enforced, Apple may be seeking to strike a balance between minimizing disruption to the industry and providing developers with a testing environment that closely resembles opt-in enforcement. Suppose that for a window of time (+/- 3 months), the IDFA was available, regardless of ATT opt-in status from the user.

This would give developers an opportunity to test opt-in rates against ATT messaging variants, and even allow all users the opportunity to opt-in or opt-out at some point prior to full enforcement. This overlap period could offer a moment wherein measurement data from deterministic SKAdNetwork attribution can be compared to deterministic attribution as provided by mobile measurement providers (MMPs).