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App Store on iOS 14.6 sends every tap you make in the app to Apple

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Re: App Store on iOS 14.6 sends every tap you make in the app to Apple

#21

Post by 2OEH8eoCRo0 »

tinus_hn wrote: post #15
altairprime wrote: post #10

OP misconstrues an iOS tracking dialog to support their complaint: > The strange thing is that Apple introduced strict measures in iOS 14.5 to prevent developers from fingerprinting users. The dialog text in their screenshot reads: > Allow “App” to track your activity across other companies’ apps and sites? Users refusing this permission are not prohibiting tracking by the company that issued the dialog. They are pro…

Also Apple doesn’t have any incentive to ‘fingerprint’ App Store users because they are either logged in or using a unique identifier.

Sure they do. What if they switch accounts, usernames, phones, etc. More data is better.

Re: App Store on iOS 14.6 sends every tap you make in the app to Apple

#22

Post by filoleg »

Someone wrote: post #18
filoleg wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe on Windows, idk, but I am not sure how Google Search could do it on either iOS or macOS. On iOS, there is no mouse cursor, so there is nothing to track in the first place. On macOS, you have to give permissions on a per-app and per-domain basis. For example, if I want to let Google Maps use my current location, first I will get a prompt to give that permission to the browser I am using in the OS settings, and t…

AFAIK, all web pages can track mouse position, as long as the mouse is inside the page’s window, and they don’t need special permission to do so. See https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Element/mou... or https://stackoverflow.com/questions/7790725/javascript-track...

Ah, thanks for the links. I guess it makes sense, given that mouse-tracking within a specific web page is pretty much impossible to ban on technical level, since you can just place a ton of invisible pixels covering the entire page, and track the mouse hover events over them. And it would be impossible to block by browser too, unless the browser prohibits mouse hover interactions with components present on the page entirely.

Re: App Store on iOS 14.6 sends every tap you make in the app to Apple

#23

Post by tinus_hn »

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #21
tinus_hn wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also Apple doesn’t have any incentive to ‘fingerprint’ App Store users because they are either logged in or using a unique identifier.

Sure they do. What if they switch accounts, usernames, phones, etc. More data is better.

If you do that, you lose all your apps and settings. Ergo, nobody does that. If you switch phones, you transfer the account. Also, Apple tracking what you do in their App Store is perhaps not very nice but doesn’t affect anyone in any detectable way so no normal person is going to go through the effort to avoid it, if they even know it is happening.

Re: App Store on iOS 14.6 sends every tap you make in the app to Apple

#24

Post by beders »

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.

They can see where users are struggling with the app and where extra-guidance is necessary.

I'm assuming many many many other apps and web pages are doing the same thing.

Nothing to see here.

Re: App Store on iOS 14.6 sends every tap you make in the app to Apple

#25

Post by tinus_hn »

filoleg wrote: post #17
tinus_hn wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many sites, probably including Google Search, also monitor where you move your mouse cursor, even if you’re not clicking. A lot less reasonable and more surprising.

Maybe on Windows, idk, but I am not sure how Google Search could do it on either iOS or macOS. On iOS, there is no mouse cursor, so there is nothing to track in the first place. On macOS, you have to give permissions on a per-app and per-domain basis. For example, if I want to let Google Maps use my current location, first I will get a prompt to give that permission to the browser I am using in the OS settings, and t…

Obviously Amazon knows what you search for on Amazon. But they probably also track what you type into the search field, even if you then delete it and never actually perform the search and even if you turn off the suggestions.

Just like when you chat with a company through one of those web chat apps, they see everything you type, even if you delete it before you press enter to send it. That is tracking on the modern web.

Re: App Store on iOS 14.6 sends every tap you make in the app to Apple

#26

Post by altairprime »

tinus_hn wrote: post #15
altairprime wrote: post #10

OP misconstrues an iOS tracking dialog to support their complaint: > The strange thing is that Apple introduced strict measures in iOS 14.5 to prevent developers from fingerprinting users. The dialog text in their screenshot reads: > Allow “App” to track your activity across other companies’ apps and sites? Users refusing this permission are not prohibiting tracking by the company that issued the dialog. They are pro…

Also Apple doesn’t have any incentive to ‘fingerprint’ App Store users because they are either logged in or using a unique identifier.

This argument’s logical reasoning error is to claim the absence of all incentive due to the absence of one incentive.

Apple has access to the logged-in account’s properties, as you assert, but this does not rule out Apple having other incentives for tracking.

Re: App Store on iOS 14.6 sends every tap you make in the app to Apple

#27

Post by altairprime »

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #21
tinus_hn wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also Apple doesn’t have any incentive to ‘fingerprint’ App Store users because they are either logged in or using a unique identifier.

Sure they do. What if they switch accounts, usernames, phones, etc. More data is better.

This argument’s logical error is presenting unprovable beliefs as if they were facts.

Apple may or may not care if users switch accounts. Only Apple confidential knowledge can prove or disprove this argument with certainty. In the absence of certainty, a best-faith effort must be made to determine whether their actions support or contradict these assertions.

The claim “Sure they do” is unsupported both by available evidence and by a good faith interpretation of their material actions. Apple’s public statements and app store policies do not support the assertion “More data is better”. There is no indication that Apple is performing enrichment of accounts using third-party data.

Re: App Store on iOS 14.6 sends every tap you make in the app to Apple

#28

Post by altairprime »

tinus_hn wrote: post #23
2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure they do. What if they switch accounts, usernames, phones, etc. More data is better.

If you do that, you lose all your apps and settings. Ergo, nobody does that. If you switch phones, you transfer the account. Also, Apple tracking what you do in their App Store is perhaps not very nice but doesn’t affect anyone in any detectable way so no normal person is going to go through the effort to avoid it, if they even know it is happening.

This argument’s logical error is declaring that an inconvenience takes higher precedence than the desired outcome.

For example, I am seriously considering doing exactly what you describe as “nobody does that” — having to repurchase all my apps and redo all my settings — in order to complete my transgender name change. Apple refuses to purge my old deadname’s iCloud email address, and so if I want to remove it, I’ll need to start a new Apple account and re-purchase all of my apps and content.

Re: App Store on iOS 14.6 sends every tap you make in the app to Apple

#29

Post by Nullabillity »

beders wrote: post #24

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. They can see where users are struggling with the app and where extra-guidance is necessary. I'm assuming many many many other apps and web pages are doing the same thing. Nothing to see here.

No post body was provided.

Re: App Store on iOS 14.6 sends every tap you make in the app to Apple

#30

Post by Nullabillity »

dangus wrote: post #19

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.

Doesn't that just say more about how obtuse these settings are designed to be though?
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