In December 2020, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a stark warning to iPhone users about Facebook’s ability to track their activity across apps and websites. The warning came as Facebook publicly criticized Apple’s planned privacy rules for iPhones, setting the stage for a major clash between the two tech giants.
Cook explained that Apple’s upcoming App Tracking Transparency system would not completely stop tracking. Instead, it would require apps to ask for explicit permission before tracking users across other companies’ apps and websites. He shared his message on Twitter (now X), writing: “We believe users should have the choice over the data that is being collected about them and how it’s used. Facebook can continue to track users across apps and websites as before; App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 will just require that they ask for your permission first.”
Apple delivered on that promise with the release of iOS 14.5 in April 2021. The App Tracking Transparency feature fundamentally changed how apps collect data for advertising and measurement. Apps now must display a tracking permission request before accessing the device’s advertising identifier or using other covered tracking methods. Users who select “Ask App Not to Track” prevent the app from accessing that identifier, and permissions can be adjusted later through iPhone privacy settings.
The policy sparked a fierce dispute between Apple and Meta, Facebook’s parent company. Meta argued that the rules would hurt businesses reliant on personalized advertising, later estimating a roughly $10 billion impact on its revenue from Apple’s privacy changes. Cook’s 2020 statement became a defining moment in Apple’s broader privacy campaign, framing tracking permission as a user choice while Meta viewed it as a threat to targeted advertising. The debate continues to shape mobile advertising privacy rules worldwide.