4 ms·

> The advertising ID they do let apps access is unique to a publisher so they can't be tied together with behaviour from apps by other publishers, and it's triv

> The advertising ID they do let apps access is unique to a publisher so they can't be tied together with behaviour from apps by other publishers, and it's trivially disabled/resettable by the end user (Settings > Privacy > Advertising > Limit Ad Tracking / Reset Advertising Identifier…). They still let apps give you a unique identifier through shared containers, those will only be deleted if you delete all apps that can access it. There is also some other container (I forgot the name) which will never be deleted unless you get a new device and don't restore any backups. You can see this kind of behaviour when you delete Instagram and they automatically fill out your username the next time you install it. With Facebook owning WhatsApp, they are already able to give each iOS device a unique identifier. What is Apple going to do about it? Remove WhatsApp from the App Store?

JimDabell 8y ago
Shared containers are also restricted by publisher – you can't share data with another publisher using them. I believe the other container you're talking about is the keychain. You can store small amounts of data in there (typically secure auth info) and it will persist even after app deletion. This is hardware encrypted by the Secure Enclave and can't be shared between publishers. Apple have shown that they are willing to remove big social media apps from the App Store just a few weeks ago, with Tumblr. Also, collecting information for use in WhatsApp and using it for a different purpose in Facebook is a DPA and GDPR violation: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/14/whatsapp-sharing-user-data-facebook-illegal-ico-gdpr https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/14/whatsapp-...