Apple has confirmed that some iOS 14.5 users will not have the option to disallow apps to track them yet.
To enable the feature and receive requests from apps, users must turn on the “Allow Apps to Request to Track” toggle in Settings. However, it appears that for some users the switch is grayed out and unusable, meaning that all apps are blocked from using the device’s advertising identifier by default, without any way to enable tracking for specific apps as the feature was intended to allow.
According to a new report from MacRumors, a new Apple support document has clarified the situation:
With iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and tvOS 14.5, apps must ask for permission before tracking your activity across other companies’ apps and websites. Tracking occurs when information that identifies you or your device collected from an app is linked with information that identifies you or your device collected on apps, websites and other locations owned by third parties for the purposes of targeted advertising or advertising measurement, or when the information collected is shared with data brokers.
For some users, however, this will not be the case:
In some circumstances, the “Allow Apps to Request to Track” setting is disabled, including:
- For users with child accounts or under age 18 by birth year, signed in with their Apple ID
- If your Apple ID is managed by an educational institution or uses a configuration profile that limits tracking
- If your Apple ID was created in the last 3 days
In all these cases, apps cannot track you and don’t receive the IDFA. You cannot do much if the “Allows Apps to Request to Track” option is grayed out on your iPhone, and the option will only be enabled on your device if the status of your Apple account changes.
With regards to the “Allow Apps to Request to track” toggle being greyed out for some users, it seems if you sign your device out then back into iCloud it fixes the bug. So if your having this issue give it a try. #iOS145 @BrandonButch pic.twitter.com/Q3eVvRo1hb
— Shaun Jenks 📱⌚️💻🎧📸✈️ (@Shaunjenks) April 27, 2021
Some iPhone users report that the option is grayed out on their device despite their account not meeting any of the criteria mentioned above. In such cases, they could enable the App Tracking toggle by signing out of their Apple ID on their iPhone, rebooting it, and then logging back in.
