The new feature, dubbed App Tracking Transparency, was
initially planned to debut this year, but was delayed to give developers more
time to make changes to their apps and address privacy issues.
Some tech companies and advertisers, such as Facebook, have
criticised the planned change, saying it could hurt smaller developers such as
gaming companies disproportionately.
But Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software
engineering at Apple, said users should know when they are being tracked across
different apps and websites.
"Early next year, we'll begin requiring all apps that
want to do that to obtain their users' explicit permission, and developers who
fail to meet that standard can have their apps taken down from the App
Store," he said at the European Data Protection and Privacy Conference.
The new feature will require a pop-up notification saying
the app "would like permission to track you across apps and websites owned
by other companies." Digital advertising firms expect most users will
decline to grant that permission.
"When invasive tracking is your business model, you
tend not to welcome transparency and customer choice," Federighi said,
rejecting criticism of the new feature.
"We need the world to see those arguments for what they
are: a brazen attempt to maintain the privacy-invasive status quo."
Facebook and Google are the largest among thousands of
companies that track online consumers to pick up on their habits and interests
and serve them relevant ads.
Apple itself was under fire last month when a Austrian
privacy group, led by campaigner Max Schrems, filed complaints with data
protection watchdogs in Germany and Spain, alleging an online tracking tool
used in its devices breached European law. Apple rebutted the charge, calling
it "factually inaccurate".
Federighi said the industry would adapt to provide effective
advertising without invasive tracking.
"Getting this right will take time, collaboration,
listening — and true partnership across the entire technology ecosystem. But we
believe the result will be transformative."
© Reuters