Apple Tries Out New Anti-Tracking Prompt For Added Privacy — iOS 14.4 beta Version Out, iOS 14.3 Wrapped Up!

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    Apple, the king of privacy for consumer-level electronics, has taken another step in the right direction. Apple has now started pushing a prompt on updated iOS and iPadOS devices requiring users to confirm their consent on the apps having the ability to track their activity.

    Apple’s new privacy update: Security or Profit?

    Apple has recently introduced a pop-up prompt that would require users to confirm their consent on allowing applications to have the ability to track their activity. This update will add to Apple’s already huge arsenal of privacy, ensuring features available across its platforms.

    Two days after rolling out the 14.3 update for iOS devices (6s and later) and iPadOS (iPad Air 2), Apple seeded the first betas for iOS, iPadOS 14.4 & watchOS 7.3. Now, Apple has already started testing iOS 14.4 by launching the beta versions for iOS 14.4 for download.

    Privacy tracking prompt pop-up
    MacRumours released this picture depicting Apple’s new tracking prompt pop-up.

    One of the biggest features of iOS 14.4 will be its anti-tracking measure. The anti-tracking prompt is a glimpse into Apple’s new undertaking, that will offer better than competition security at individual levels. Apple has reportedly been wanting to roll out this feature since September but has been pushing deadlines to ensure developers get adequate time to prepare.

    Facebook has taken a dig at Apple’s intention to increase the privacy, saying that the new updates will greatly reduce the ease of doing business for small businesses and new startups. Apple’s new updated privacy policies will prevent cross-app and cross-site that is used to provide targeted ads.

    iOS 14.4 will bring around a lot of changes in the privacy front accompanied by some changes that help improve connectivity across Apple’s own ecosystem, like enabling U1-based proximity features of the HomePod mini.

    iOS 14.3 wrapped for you

    iOS 14.3 was released on 14th December and is available for download on iPhone 6s and later. Apple also has rolled out iPadOS 14.3 with similar features and will be available for download on iPad Air 2 onwards. All the devices that are getting these updates date back to 2015-2016 which again proves Apple’s commitment not only to dish out major generation upgrades but also incremental updates and security patches regularly to devices that are 4-5 years old already.

    The update for iOS 14.3 weighed around the 600MB mark if you are upgrading from 14.2 and above. We received updates of 610MB on an iPhone 11 and 525MB on the iPad Air 4th Gen.

    What’s new on iOS 14.3?

    Some of the biggest updates for the 14.3:

    • Apple’s Fitness+ app with added feature becomes a paid feature now in selected countries.
    • Updated privacy policies that now enable you to see the data collection points available to apps directly on the App Store.
    Privacy stats on Apple's App Store
    iPhone 7 running iOS 14.3 showing the data points being used by Instagram.
    • Apple TV+ service gets integrated into the Apple TV app with updated menu and more refined UI.
    • Pregnancy Tab inside Apple’s Health App allows storing, tracking and sharing of data that can be vital for women who are expecting to give birth. Good job Apple!
    • Apple introduces search engine choices for Safari over and above the default, Google. This is a refresher after Google’s 14th December outage.
    New search engines for Safari
    Search engine options have now increased including many smaller search engines.
    • Apple introduces the much talked about Apple ProRAW through this update on iPhone 12 Pro.
    • Apple also brings in support for App Clips (Apple’s version of mini apps). This feature will soon be functional as an when developers start rolling out versions to fit this.

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