Apple calls privacy campaigner's criticism 'factually inaccurate'

Apple has responded forcefully to a European activist filing legal complaints regarding its tracking tools, calling the claims "inaccurate," and saying it is ready to defend its position.

Following privacy activist Max Schrems and his NOYB group filing legal complaints in Spain and Germany, Apple has responded that its criticisms are baseless. The accusation is that Apple's Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) is used by the company to track users without permission.

According to Reuters, Apple has now said that it is fully compliant with all European privacy laws, and that NOYB's criticisms are simply incorrect.

"Our practices comply with European law and support and advance the aims of the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive, which is to give people full control over their data," said an Apple spokesperson. "[Apple] does not access or use the IDFA on a user's device for any purpose."

The NOYB, or None of Your Business, group claims that "Apple places codes that are comparable to a cookie in its phones without any consent by the user."

Apple says that this is "factually inaccurate and we look forward to making that clear to privacy regulators should they examine the complaint."

NOYB filed the complaint to authorities in Spain and Germany, but hopes that if those countries blocked Apple from including the IDFA in iOS, it will spread to other territories as well. "[It] would be difficult for the company to continue doing with millions what was declared illegal for two countries," said the group's lawyer, Stefano Rossetti.

Apple has recently come under criticism for how it plans to limit the use of the IDFA by advertisers. It had originally intended to require users to specifically choose whether or not to allow advertiser tracking as part of iOS 14, though it has now delayed that until early 2021.

6 Comments

22july2013 3722 comments · 11 Years

About 3 years ago

Does NOYB object to Google's equivalent to IDFA which is GAII?

Does NOYB know that IDFA requires a user to opt-in?

Does NOYB know that IDFA is being replaced on iOS14 in 1Q 2021 with SKAdNetwork?

maestro64 5029 comments · 19 Years

NOYB is not suing due to Apple not being compliment to the EU laws, they want Apple to go beyond EU law and not allow any tracking what so ever, no opt-in feature.

gatorguy 24603 comments · 13 Years

22july2013 said:

Does NOYB object to Google's equivalent to IDFA which is GAII?

Does NOYB know that IDFA requires a user to opt-in?

Does NOYB know that IDFA is being replaced on iOS14 in 1Q 2021 with SKAdNetwork?

For the moment IDFA is still automatically opt-in as it's always been isn't it? You still have to actively opt-out until Apple changes it next year. But yes sometime in the very near future Apple will be reversing course and making it something you must opt-into, and that's a good thing. Other companies are paying attention and moving in the same direction. As Apple goes so goes some others. They're the 800lb gorilla.

Anyway, Maestro64 is correct in that the objection is to the automatic existence of a unique IDFA resident in every iPhone to begin with. No doubt if successful other devices with other OS's will also need to change their practices.

avon b7 8006 comments · 20 Years

OutdoorAppDeveloper 1292 comments · 15 Years

So what was up with everyone's computer getting really slow after Big Sur was released because the OS could not phone home to tell Apple about everything we were doing? Talk about getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar.