Installing apps on your smartphone used to be a no-brainer, but with so many apps choosing to harvest user data these days it’s important to know how to protect your privacy. So how do you block app tracking on your iPhone but still get the most out of the apps you know and love? Let’s dive in.
First, it’s important that you’ve updated your phone to the latest iOS version. As of this writing, that’s iOS 15.5. Apple added the ability to block app tracking back in iOS 14.5, so as long as you’ve updated to that point, you’re good.
How To Block App Tracking On iPhone:
- First, go to Settings > Privacy on your iPhone
- Find Tracking and select it
- Toggle the Allow Apps to Request to Track switch to Off
You can also choose to Share App Tracking Data with apps that have asked for permission in the past or turn it off for good by selecting Ask Apps Not To Track.
If you select the former option, apps that you’ve already approved will continue to track whatever data they have permissions for. The latter option will stop all apps from tracking you, even if you’ve approved them in the past, effectively locking down your iPhone on all fronts for good.
You can also go through your list of apps and see which ones have asked for permission to track you. For each app, there will be a little switch next to it that you can toggle off.
It’s important to remember that if you choose “Ask Apps Not To Track,” apps won’t even ask for permissions and may cause unexpected issues. When you block an app from tracking you, it may also affect how the app functions. Some apps, for example, will no longer be able to show you targeted ads based on your interests. Others may not work as well if they’re reliant on user data to function properly.
It’s also good to remember that if you have a jailbroken phone (with modified software), some features like app tracking transparency might not work at all, so this guide is meant for unmodified iPhones with iOS only.
It’s up to you to decide which apps you want to keep and which you want to get rid of, but either way, it’s important to know how to block app tracking on your iPhone.