Click to Control: How the Cookie Crumbles!

Apple is preparing to enable its App Tracking Transparency feature by default on iPhones from early spring 2021.  In case you didn't know, (and I didn't) iOS apps contain and an Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA)  which can track the fact that you looked at a product on one app, and communicate that information to other apps so they can advertise similar products to you! These IDFA's are a form of behavioural tracker or "Cookie".  Until now, on an iPhone, you could only opt out of app tracking cookies if you 1) knew they existed and 2) knew where to find the transparency feature which would make the "opt-out" option available to you!  Unlike tracking between apps on iOS, tracking within a browser (like Safari, Chrome or Explorer) is regulated which is why you may have already seen user consent pop-ups when surfing the net. 

Realising that I didn't really know what Cookies are, nor what is behind the user-consent popups I often see in my content - so I embarked on a mission to find out! In this episode, I explain what Cookies actually do, what happens when you click to accept them, and what options you have to feel less spookily tracked by ads online!

Apart from the techniques I suggest in the episode itself, I would also recommend the use of a Virtual Private Network or VPN which adds another layer of protection to your online activity. I use Express VPN (not sponsored in any way) but there are a whole load of excellent VPN service providers out there. 

Your data is valuable, and worth protecting! 

--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/eightminuteidea/message