If the ability to stop app tracking in iOS 14 was like an assault on the ad industry and a direct crackdown on apps like Google and Facebook in particular, the App Privacy Report is set to further tighten the screw on tracking. on iOS 15. With the help of this latest privacy-focused feature, users can track every activity of an app, allowing them to see how often it uses sensitive permissions and what kind of data it may have accessed recently. This guide explains what the App Privacy Report is in iOS 15 and how to use it on your iPhone and iPad.
How to use the App Privacy Report on iPhone (2021)
To get started, let’s first dive into the basics and understand what the App Privacy Report is in iOS 15 and how it works. We also discuss other important aspects such as how to enable and use the feature, manage permissions, and more.
What is the App Privacy Report in iOS 15 and how does it work?
Apple introduced the App Privacy Report as one of the biggest additions to its arsenal of privacy features in iOS 15 at WWDC 2021. As it has now become the norm to offer important features later with an update, the Report Privacy application did not come with the official version. for iOS 15 that was released in September. To end the speculation, Apple has finally released the App Privacy Report in iOS 15.2 beta.
The App Privacy Report is designed to make tracking more transparent, ensuring there is no mystery about what an app does behind the scenes. It allows you to check how often applications access your sensitive information, such as:
- Contacts (edit)
- Camera
- Rental
- Images
- Camera
- Microphone
With a detailed report on data and sensor access, website and app network activity, and most frequently contacted domains in the last 7 days, the App Privacy Report keeps you fully informed about usage. of your personal information.
Previously, you could control an application’s access to your sensitive information, but there was no way of knowing how many times your personal information had been accessed. Some creepy apps would take advantage of this ambiguity to use allowed information more often than necessary.
With the App Privacy Report, you can now see how often each app uses confidential permissions that you have previously granted. With the release of this feature, there is a strong chance that data-intensive applications will start to perform well. Because they would know that a user can easily detect their greed. With that said, see how you can enable App Privacy Report in iOS 15 on your iPhone.
How to Activate App Privacy Report on iPhone and iPad
Make sure your iPhone or iPad is running iOS 15.2 / iPadOS 15.2 or later to access this privacy feature. You can learn how to install the iOS 15 beta profile on your iPhone using the linked guide. One, follow the steps below:
- Launch the Settings Appon your iPhone.
- Now select Privacy.
- Then scroll down to the bottom and tap on App Privacy Report.
- Lastly, tap “ Activate App Privacy Report“ Button. Now, it will take some time to start filling in the data as you continue to use apps and websites on your iOS 15 device.
It’s worth noting that if you had “Log App Activity” turned on in iOS 15 or iOS 15.1, you already have App Privacy Report enabled on your device. Therefore, you will see a detailed privacy report on this screen immediately.
Use the App Privacy Report on iPhone and iPad
To make it easier for users to understand the type and amount of data collected, the App Privacy Report is divided into several sub-categories. Shows how often an app accesses certain confidential permissions, tracks third-party data sharing not only by apps, but also by websites you visit in Safari. Let’s see how you can understand the App Privacy Report in iOS 15:
Access to data and sensors
The Data and Sensors section displays a list of all applications that have accessed sensors and data granted through privacy permissions. It lets you know when applications are accessing sensitive information such as contacts, camera, location, microphone, photos, and media library .
Application network activity
Using Application network activity, see the list of domains that applications have contacted in the last 7 days. It shows the internal domains used by the applications and allows you to find out which third-party services / websites, including analysis and tracking tools, are contacted by the application in the background.
You can tap the ” Show all ” option to see the complete list of the most active domains contacted by apps on your iPhone. There is also an option to sort the entire list in alphabetical order. Also, at the bottom of each application, you can see the list of visited websites within the application.
Website network activity
Although the Website’s Network Activity is similar to the Application’s Network Activity, it lists all the domains contacted by the websites you visited in Apple’s Safari browser and applications on your device. Using this category, you can discover the different ad trackers and analytics websites that most applications use to collect information.
Most contacted domains
As the name suggests, the Most Contacted Domains section displays a detailed list of domains that applications, including and especially ad trackers, analytics tools, feed APIs and more, contacted during the last 7 days. Tapping on any domain can allow you to find out which apps / websites have pinged that domain along with the timestamps.
How to Share App Privacy Report on iPhone and iPad
iOS 15 also gives you an easy way to export the App Privacy Report. So if you want to share a detailed privacy report with friends or keep track of your privacy data, you can easily do so.
- Open the Settings app and navigate to Privacy -> App Privacy Report.
- Then, touch the Share buttonlocated in the upper right corner of the screen and choose the preferred medium.
How to disable app privacy reporting on iPhone and iPad
If you no longer want to record privacy data and view the App Privacy Report on your iOS 15 device, you can easily disable it. Note that turning it off will delete all existing data. With that said, here are the steps to disable the App Privacy Report:
- Open the Settings app and go to Privacy -> App Privacy Report.
- Now, scroll down to the bottom and tap on the “Disable App Privacy Report” option.
- Next, a pop-up window will appear saying: “Stop recording application activity? Any existing information about the activity of the application will be deleted immediately. You can start logging application activity again at any time and the information will be populated as the applications are used. ” Tap OKto confirm and deactivate the function.
Manage privacy by app on iPhone and iPad
Now if you ever notice an app accessing confidential permissions outside of the scope of your use or in the background, you can easily manage per app privacy permissions in iOS 15 on iPhone and iPad. So you can customize the privacy settings on your device to allow / not allow apps to access personal information, and that’s how it works.
- Open the Settings app and go to the Privacy section.
- Now, you should see a long list of privacy settings for photos, contacts, local network access in iOS, camera, microphone, location, and more.
- Next, go to specific settings and allow / disallow an application to access certain data and sensors based on your needs.
Enable and use App Privacy Report on iOS 15
And that’s it. This concludes our guide on how to enable and use the App Privacy Report feature on iPhone. As a user, we have the right to know who uses our personal information, what it is used for and how often an application accesses it. The more transparent an application is in handling confidential information, the more reliable it will become. On the contrary, ambiguity cannot generate more than chaos and confusion. What’s your take on this new privacy-focused feature in iOS 15? Be sure to let us know in the comment section below.
