iOS 14.5, released today, brings a new feature called “App Tracking Transparency” which blocks apps from tracking you outside the scope of that app.
9to5Mac reports how app tracking can be harmful:
Apps with ability to track you across the web and other apps is very common and in many cases, can be harmless. However, there are examples where app tracking is abused. In a report from the Washington Post, 5,400 iPhone apps were found to be using trackers and, in some examples, were sending personal data like phone numbers and users’ locations to third-party research and marketing firms.
This is a right step towards protecting user privacy on iPhones. Glad that Apple came up with this little feature.