Disable Ad ID tracking on iOS and Android
The “IDFA,” the ad identifier on iOS, and the “AAID” on Android, are keys that enable third parties to track your mobile devices. Advertisers and data brokers would find it significantly harder to create your profile if you were to disable it. Therefore, the amount of your personal information up for grabs would also be limited.
In this article, apart from telling you how to disable Ad ID tracking on your mobile devices, we also share why it’s essential.
Why does disabling ad ID tracking on mobile devices matter?
A unique string of letters and numbers from the ad identifier helps locate your phone, tablet, or other smart devices. The only purpose of its existence is to help companies snoop on you.
The apps on your device that third-party trackers use to collect data about you. The Ad-ID allows them to collate data from various sources to create a single profile of yours. Data brokers can also compare notes about you as every app and tracker traces you to the same ID. One broker can buy data from another.
Is it anonymous or pseudo-anonymous?
Data brokers and third-party trackers often argue that the Ad-ID isn’t a serious threat to your privacy. They say that the Ad-ID is pseudo-anonymous and does not include information that can be identified personally. However, that’s not entirely accurate.
Ad ID is often used to collect granular location data that can be personally identifiable. You won’t need a person’s email to identify them if you can keep an eye on where they go. Again, to help trackers link Ad IDs to information that’s more directly identifiable, like email addresses and phone numbers, there’s a whole industry working behind the scenes.
Disabling Ad ID makes your tracking by advertisers and data brokers considerably harder. While processing data collected from billions of users, these industries find it that much harder to link data to individual users like you if tools like Ad ID are removed from their arsenal.
It results in much less data being traced to you randomly. It boosts your privacy, but it also slashes the profits made by the surveillance and ad industry.
Let’s now investigate using the Ad ID to disable the feature on mobile devices.
Disabling Ad ID Tracking on Android
Navigate to Privacy -> ads after opening the Settings section. You’ll have to tap on “Delete advertising ID” and tap on it again to confirm on the next page. This helps prevent the apps installed on your phone from accessing the Ad ID feature anymore.
On Android 12, the “opt-out of Ads Personalization” option is available. However, it may not be there on the older versions, where you’ll have to reset your ad ID, asking the apps not to track you.
Disabling Ad ID Tracking on iOS
Before they access your IDFA, Apple has made it mandatory for all apps to seek your permission. Therefore, an app may ask you for permission to track you when installing it. To deny an app IDFA access, simply select the “ask app not to track” option so IDFA access can be denied.
You may go to Settings -> Privacy -> Tracking to confirm to which apps you have already granted access. You can disable the access you have previously granted to apps from here. You can simply change the “allow apps to request to track” to the “off” position to prevent apps from seeking permission to track you.
To disable Apple’s advertising system, go to Settings > Privacy > Apple Advertising. Pick the Personalized Ads and switch it off by tapping on the left of the slider so that the round ball slides to the off position.
You can also prevent tracking by advertisers or data brokers by deciding to get VPN apps. A Virtual Private Network uses remote servers to reroute your traffic and mask your IP address. You can easily find out what is your IP address. It is noticeable that it reveals such details as your ISP and approximate location.
After users connect to a VPN, entities have a more challenging time tracking browsing habits and relating them to users. Additionally, it guarantees safety for all exchanges and blends in traffic from one user with the traffic from others connected to the same servers.
Conclusion
There’s more invasion of online privacy than ever before. Advertisers and data brokers are among the main culprits. There’s a lot of data up for grabs that can be traced to you. Disabling Ad ID tracking, therefore, assumes great significance.
Prevent the apps on your phones from tracking you altogether, only leaving those out that need to do so to remain useful. Disabling Ad ID tracking helps boost your privacy significantly, preventing the creation of your profile for targeted advertising. Shoring up your defense against advertisers and data brokers is a wise thing to do.