OP misconstrues an iOS tracking dialog to support their complaint:<p>> <i>The strange thing is that Apple introduced strict measures in iOS 14.5 to prevent developers from fingerprinting users.</i><p>The dialog text in their screenshot reads:<p>> <i>Allow “App” to track your activity across other companies’ apps and sites?</i><p>Users refusing this permission are not prohibiting tracking by the company that issued the dialog. They are prohibiting the company from tracking users beyond the boundary of their corporation. Apple’s App Store app is within the boundary of Apple Corporation, and so the tracking dialog shown is not relevant to their complaint.<p>(I have no viewpoint to offer on OP’s argument beyond the logical reasoning error described above.)
This is nothing new. Apple has been tracking searches in the App Store, which apps you scroll past and which ones you tap on very far back, maybe even since the initial App Store, that's how they figure out how to rank various apps for various search terms (I don't know the exact formula but one of the components is CTR for a particular search term, others appears to be rating score, number of ratings, number of written review, number of total downloads, download velocity, given keywords, title, company name, trademark, update frequency, etc).<p>If you search multiple times for the same term you will see a slight variation in search results, that's how they give apps a chance to move up or down. IE they move you down one slot but you still outperform the app above in CTR, you probably should remain in your current spot, or move up. Another app gets moved in front of their current ranking and the app that got moved down outperforms it in CTR, keep things as they are.
We use LogRocket to record all interactions with our front-ends and it's awesome for trouble shooting and also invaluable for our product managers.<p>They can see where users are struggling with the app and where extra-guidance is necessary.<p>I'm assuming many many many other apps and web pages are doing the same thing.<p>Nothing to see here.
I believe Amazon, Airbnb, airlines and many others are doing / were doing same on their web pages too. It allow to provide better personalized (TM) experience and significantly increase ROI.<p>There is good book how it works in offline world.
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/02/13/514322899/aisles-have-eyes-warns-that-brick-and-mortar-stores-are-watching-you" rel="nofollow">https://www.npr.org/2017/02/13/514322899/aisles-have-eyes-wa...</a>
Related article, with some more background: <a href="https://gizmodo.com/apple-iphone-analytics-tracking-even-when-off-app-store-1849757558" rel="nofollow">https://gizmodo.com/apple-iphone-analytics-tracking-even-whe...</a><p>(via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33527141" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33527141</a>, but we merged that thread hither)
I'm seeing a lot of comments saying things like "seems reasonable" and "of course", but I thought Apple was supposed to be for the privacy conscious? Why is HN not bothered by this?
It's interesting that the researchers assumed turning off the transmission of device analytics would also turn off the transmission of all app analytics, whether from Apple or third parties.<p>I also wish they would've tried Lockdown Mode, at least.
Unless this person shows us Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements, the only thing I can conclude is that they left the setting on and they’re confusing third party app tracking controls with Apple’s analytics setting.
After iOS 16 Apple asks for ‘analytics’ to improve iOS.<p>It is disingenuous of them to use the word ‘Tracking’ for everyone else and ‘experience improving’ for themselves.
Apple: Proof you can pay and still be the product.<p>It's like someone breaking into your house and rummaging through your desk taking photos because that suits them and there is fine print. One day as a society having a networked cpu involved in someone doing something won't make nearly every lawmaker, lawyer, judge and customer have their brain fall out of their ear and they'll actually be able to think critically about it and respond.<p>"But facebrick/goog/the stasi are a little bit worse so..."
I don't understand people still hanging on to the fiction that Apple is some sort of bastion of privacy. Do they know that google pays Apple "an estimated $8-12 billion"[0] to be default search and as a result track almost all iPhone users' searches? If that's not "selling your data" I don't know what is.<p>[0]<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/technology/apple-google-search-antitrust.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/technology/apple-google-s...</a>