Apple To Limit Third-Party Tracking In Apps For Kids To Increase Privacy

As tech firms are trying to deal with concerns related to safety and privacy, Apple has just released a number of changes to limit third-party tracking in apps for children. According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is planning to announce these changes at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2019, which will be held on June 3. Google and Facebook have always encouraged and urged developers to take initiatives on social networking and Internet privacy at their conferences. So it would not come as a surprise if Apple chose this event to talk about increased privacy for children.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the iPhone has had some problems with sharing users' sensitive information through third-party applications. It also includes applications intended for children that have shared personal information of users like names without permission. In last April, for example, the Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern discovered her child's age, identity, and books were published on Facebook via the Curious World app on iOS without any consent from her. The company confirmed that it was a problem, however, she and a colleague found trackers in 79 out of 80 apps downloaded from App Store.

Privacy is the second most common reason that Apple often refuses to put an application on its store. Apple has pledged that it is trying its best to:

Currently the company has not revealed exactly the changes in limiting third-party tracking in kids’ apps which it is about to release. Perhaps we have to wait for WWDC to know more about privacy improvements on the App Store.