EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Apple’s new competitive differentiators and brand messaging center around user privacy. In June, at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference, the company announced that app developers would soon need to submit information about a given app’s data collection practices.

In relation to this initiative, Apple has just launched a feature that enables people to clearly see what type of information each app collects about them. The information is presented in a straightforward manner, reminiscent of nutrition facts labels, giving Apple customers greater control over their online identities.

iOS users are now able to see how each app uses data; tracking data, data linked to your identity and data that’s anonymized.

This core move on the part of Apple will highlight the proliferation third-party adtech and analytics SDKs (software development kits).

Image courtesy of Techcrunch.com.

What kinds of information does adtech collect?

It varies. Apps may collect personal contact information, like your address, email and phone number. They may also collect health data entered into an app, credit card or other financial information, your audio recordings, your texts, your browsing history, and more.

What else should you know?

Apple will continue to leverage customer data for the purpose of customizing ads in its own apps.  In other ways, the company is also working to change ad-tech as we know it.

To check out exactly which apps collect what, open the App Store app, search for a specific app, and then scroll down to App Privacy. Click/tap App Privacy.

To see the information that social media companies routinely collect, check out these video clips on ZDNet.com.  To see past Cyber Talk coverage of Apple’s new app-focused privacy measures, click here.