The problem is that ATT isnt a block-all solution to trackers.
What ATT doesnt do is actually block those third-party trackers.
For that, you need a third-party appbut you gotta see to it you trust it.
1Blocker
Allowing a third party to proxy your traffic creates another point of vulnerability if they get hacked.
Advertisers can use the IDFA to personalize ads.
Advertisers could build up a picture of which apps and sites you use.
Guardian
Guardian
The new ATT rules mean that developers have to explicitly request access to the IDFA.
Youve probably spotted the flaw already.
Any app developer that secretly was tracking you in the past will likely continue, if possible.
Lockdown
Apps from the same developer also still can track you across its other apps.
Facebook can use data from Instagram, for example.
It works great, but only in Safari.
Apps, and in-app browsers, are not affected.
A new class of apps has risen to deal with this.
Lockdown
Lockdown uses another approach.
All blocking is done on your rig.
Either way, you should do your research to check that your firewall software isnt also tracking you.
Both Guardian Firewall and Lockdown publish audits to help you check.
Last week1Blocker, the iOS and Mac content-blocker appfor Safari, added a tracker blocker.
Some of these connections are legit, kinda.
Lots of apps use analytics services to send usage stats back from your gadget.
This lets them troubleshoot apps and figure out usage patterns.
But, in the end, analytics are just trackers by another name.
They may not be used for targeting ads, but they are still leaking your data.
Should You Run A Tracker Blocker?
First, its hard to overstate the importance of trusting blocker apps.
Firewall software, on the other hand, potentially has access to any data that passes through it.
But in return for this bit of research, you get a lot.
Apps cannot connect to Facebook, Google Analytics or other trackers like that.
Dodgy weather apps cannot share your location data because they cannot connect and upload it.
If you care about your privacy, then you should at least check out the options.
Thats because iOS can only run one VPN at a time.
Apples ATT rules have shaken things up, but in the end they offer less protection than we need.
Luckily, the solutions exist, and you should check them out.
