With the launch of iOS 14.5, apps are no longer allowed to access the IDFA or tracking advertiser on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV without your express permission, keeping your app data more private. Apps use your IDFA to track you across different apps and websites, keeping tabs on your preferences and app usage habits.

generic tracking prompt green
When an app wants to use your IDFA, you'll see a popup that says "Allow [app] to track your activity across other companies' apps and websites?"

When this prompt comes up, you can choose to select "Ask App Not to Track," which blocks all access to your advertising identifier, or "Allow," which lets the app access the information for tracking purposes. Apps are allowed to explain why they want access to the IDFA, but the ad industry largely expects most people to decline.

If you don't want to deal with these popups from ads and want to universally block access to the IDFA, there's a Privacy setting that allows you to do so. Follow these steps:

  1. Open up the Settings app.
  2. Scroll down and tap Privacy. app tracking transparency disable
  3. Tap on Tracking.
  4. Toggle off "Allow Apps to Request to Track."

Depending on your prior privacy settings, this toggle may have already been turned off on your device. If it wasn't, this will make sure that you don't see tracking request popups and that apps aren't able to access your IDFA.

tracking disabled ios 14 5
Developers are now required to adhere to Apple's privacy rules, so if you don't have this toggle turned off, you can expect to see quite a few more popups from apps that want to use your advertising identifier for ad targeting purposes.

It's worth noting that the anti-tracking rule also expands to other tracking methods, so app developers are not allowed to create workarounds that allow them to gather enough data about your device to create a profile even without the IDFA.

If for some reason you decide you want to turn tracking on for a particular app but had the auto-decline feature turned on, you can get the popup to come back by turning it off and then re-downloading the app.

Top Rated Comments

Seanm87 Avatar
54 months ago
I know I can just toggle this in the settings but to be honest I'm going to get quite a joy manually pressing no to everything instead.
Score: 75 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
54 months ago
Good bye Facebook. RIP.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
max2 Avatar
54 months ago

I will reject all of them and I know I can just toggle this in the settings but to be honest I'm going to get quite a joy manually pressing no to everything instead.
Me too!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
oliverades Avatar
54 months ago

So dudes will be pushed ads for mascara, diapers and arcade games now instead of beer, trucks and tools.
Oh no! The horror! How will you recover from this affront to your already fragile masculinity?!? Maybe large corporations should be able to sell my information so all the advertisers know I’m a mans man, because I can’t handle anyone thinking I’m…soft ?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The Chosen One Avatar
54 months ago
Just to clarify this doesn't stop ads from appearing.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nwcs Avatar
54 months ago
I can’t envision a single reason why I would want to allow any app to track me for advertising. It’s not like all these so-called personalized ads were ever relevant to me. I’d rather be given the option to pay and not have any ads/tracking of any variety (including metrics) or as generic as possible if I’m not allowed the option.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

General Apps Messages Redux

iOS 26: New Messages and Phone App Features Leaked Ahead of WWDC

Friday June 6, 2025 7:27 am PDT by
Apple is planning to announce several new features for the Messages and Phone apps on iOS 26, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a lengthy report outlining his WWDC 2025 expectations today, Gurman said that the two main changes in the Messages app will be the ability to create polls, as well as the option to set a background image within a conversation. 9to5Mac was first to report...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' Launching Later This Year With These 17 New Features

Friday June 6, 2025 6:17 am PDT by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device. Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including worse battery life, only a single ...
carplay hero dashboard

iOS 26 to Upgrade CarPlay in Two Ways

Wednesday June 4, 2025 6:24 am PDT by
While the spotlight has been on CarPlay Ultra lately, the regular version of CarPlay is set to receive some enhancements alongside iOS 26. Apple will announce iOS 26 at WWDC 2025 next week, and the software update is expected to upgrade the CarPlay experience in at least two ways. The first iOS 26 beta should be seeded to developers shortly after Apple's keynote, and the update will...
Apple Activity Rings Graphic

Apple Watch Gets One Crucial Fitness Metric Wrong, Researchers Say

Thursday June 5, 2025 7:35 am PDT by
The Apple Watch provides highly accurate measurements of heart rate and step count, but their estimates of calories burned can be significantly off, according to a new peer-reviewed meta-analysis conducted by researchers at the University of Mississippi (via CNET). The study reviewed 56 previously published studies evaluating the Apple Watch's performance against gold-standard clinical tools ...
General iOS Mail Feature

iPhone Users Say Mail App Suddenly Showing Blank Screen on iOS 18.5

Thursday June 5, 2025 7:02 am PDT by
If the Mail app on your iPhone is not working lately, you are not alone. A growing number of iPhone users are seeing a blank screen in the Mail app, according to comments posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, Apple Support Community, and other online discussion platforms. Affected users are unable to view any emails in their inboxes, and the app can also become glitchy and...
iOS 26 white

iOS 26's Digital Glass Design: Home Screen Widgets, Camera, and More

Friday June 6, 2025 8:32 am PDT by
In a lengthy report outlining his WWDC 2025 expectations today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman shared more details about iOS 26's rumored new design. According to Gurman, iOS 26 will feature a "digital glass" design inspired by visionOS, the operating system for Apple's Vision Pro headset. That is a well-known rumor by now, but he goes on to provide some more specific details, as listed below:There ...
macOS Tahoe Render

macOS Tahoe Might Support One Fewer Mac Than Previously Rumored

Saturday June 7, 2025 5:27 am PDT by
macOS 26 will drop support for several older Intel-based Mac models currently compatible with macOS Sequoia, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of leaking information about Apple's software platforms. macOS 26 will be compatible with the following Mac models, the account said:MacBook Air (M1 and later) MacBook Pro (2019 and later) iMac (2020 and later) Mac...