Apple Rebuffs Facebook’s Criticism of Upcoming Privacy Changes
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The Apple logo is displayed on the exterior of an Apple Store on April 23, 2013 in San Francisco, California.

Apple doubled down on Facebook after receiving a barrage of criticism for its upcoming App Tracking Transparency Feature.

The new Apple feature is expected to come out by early next year, and could halt ad-tracking features used by apps like Facebook.

Under the new feature, users will have to give their permission before apps collect data about them.

Facebook in a full-page newspaper ad said the new iOS 14 features could hurt small businesses. The company said these changes will "limit businesses' ability to run personalized ads and reach their customers effectively."

In a blog post, Facebook also said Apple's new policy is "more about profit than privacy."

Facebook's criticism is the latest in an ongoing battle between two of the world's largest tech companies.

Apple Stands Up to New Privacy Features

As a social networking site, Facebook continues to be free for use through advertising.

Apple said in a statement shared with The Verge it was simply "standing up for [its] users" following the new feature's announcement.

Meanwhile, Apple's privacy chief Jane Horvath called out Facebook's data collection practices and said Apple was still "fully committed" to the new privacy features.

"Facebook executives have made clear their intent is to collect as much data as possible across both first and third party products to develop and monetize detailed profiles of their users," Horvath wrote, saying the practice was a disregard for the privacy of Facebook's users.

In an article from 9 to 5 Mac, Apple said the changes don't have to affect how Facebook's "approach to tracking users."

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It added that the new feature only "gives users a choice" with regards to tracking.

Apple also emphasized in its statement that the changes applies to all developers, including themselves.

It said the features will apply to all developers equally and advertising can still be made possible on top of the new App Tracking Transparency features.

New Apple Features to Roll Out Next Year

The changes are set to be available on Apple phones' Settings app by 2021.

So once users look at their Privacy menu and under the Tracking section, they can revoke or grant permission for some apps to track them when necessary.

When users open an app for the first time, they will be met by a pop-up message that will grant these permissions.

The company added that if it was alerted of a violation to App Store guidelines regarding privacy and tracking, the developers will be required to address the issue or else have the app removed.

Apple Grounds Features on 'A Set of Privacy Principles'

The new privacy feature was announced alongside several new privacy updates for iOS at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this year, said a report from CNET.

During the announcement, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi said all of the company's work is grounded on "a set of privacy principles."

Users will also be informed about the kinds of data request an app requires before it will be downloaded.

It will show people those labels under two categories: "Data Linked To You" and "Data Used to Track You."

First announced in June, the release of the features was delayed for 2021 so developers will have time to make necessary changes in the data they collect.

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