Disable Ad Tracking in iOS and Android – Reasons to do it now By Vinoth Venkatesan
The Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) on iOS or Android Advertising ID (AAID) on Android - is the key that allows most third-party tracking on mobile devices. Restriction on these features will make it significantly difficult for data brokers and advertisers to profile and track you. Also, it will limit the amount of your personal information up for sale. This article will review the history of device ad identifiers and how they have enabled persistent tracking, identification, and other privacy invasions. Before we go there, let’s figure out how to revoke tracker access to your ad ID right now:-
On Android Open the Settings, and navigate to Privacy > Ads. Tap “Delete advertising ID,” then tap it again on the next page to confirm. This will prevent any app on your phone from accessing it in the future. You can opt-out in Android version 12 and above, but a similar feature may not be available on older versions. Instead, you can reset your ad ID and instruct apps not to track you as below.
On iOS Apple needs apps to ask permission before they can access your IDFA. When you install a new app, it may ask you for permission to track you.
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Select “Ask App Not to Track” to deny IDFA access. To see which apps you have previously granted access to, go to Settings > Privacy > Tracking. Here you can disable tracking for specific apps that had permission earlier. Apps that have permission to track you only will be able to access your IDFA. You can disable the “Allow apps to Request to Track” by changing the slider to the “off” position (similar to be screenshot above). This will prevent apps from requesting to track in the future. If you have granted apps authorization to track you in the past, this will prompt you to ask those apps to stop tracking. You can also grant or revoke tracking access on a per-app basis. Apart from IDFA, Apple has its own advertising system for its targeted audience. This one is separate from the third-party tracking it enables with IDFA. To disable it, navigate to Settings > Privacy > Apple Advertising. Disable the “Personalized Ads” slider to the “off” position to disable Apple’s targeted Ads. In February, Google indicated that it might eventually phase out the ad ID. It plans to introduce a version of the Privacy Sandbox framework to mobile devices to support behavioural advertising that removes the reliance on crossapp identifiers. Google assured developers that it wouldn’t impact much on the ad ID for the next two years.
