How to Disable Ad Tracking on iPhone and iOS Browser?

Apple collects information from its users such as location, search history, purchases, and apps being used. With this information, Apple provides ads in the App Store and Apple news which are based on your information such as Apple store search history (such as TV shows you follow, movies you have watched), and your News reading history. This in view of providing its users with pertinent advertising experience. In any case, the greater part of us doesn’t care for the inclination that Apple is watching all the activities carried out on our iPhones. You can Disable Ad Tracking on your iPhone and other browsers.

Although Apple esteem itself ensuring your privacy, it collects data on how you use your iPhone. In spite of the fact that Apple utilizes this information to show you targeted Ads, it keeps your data anonymous and doesn’t impart anything to third parties. By disabling certain features on your iPhone and other iOS browsers, you will limit the data Apple collects from your device.

There are many ways you can Disable Ad Tracking on your iPhone and iOS Browser which you will be learning in this article.

How to Limit Ad Tracking (LAT)?

Limiting Ad tracking prevents you from receiving some targeted ads from companies but won’t prohibit or block Apple from accessing and gathering data from your browsing activities. After disabling ad tracking on your device don’t be surprised that some of the ads that were seen before will still pop up on your screen, such ads are not targeted ads but generic ads. Once you disable ad tracking, advertising services that access your data from Apple will be cut off. Apple thus replaces all your identifiers with zeros which makes your data anonymous.

Steps to Limit ad tracking:

  1. On your iPhone home screen, go to the ‘Settings icon’.
  2. Tap the ‘Privacy’ option
  3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, then click on the ‘Advertising’ option
  4. Then, tap on the ‘Limit Ad Tracking’ option to turn it on.
Limit Ad Tracking

How to disable Location based Ads?

Location-based Ads provide you with relevant information based on your geographical location. If you want to turn it off follow the instructions below.

  1. Tap on the Settings icon.
  2. Choose the Privacy option.
  3. Tap to open the Location Services.
  4. At the bottom page on your screen, tap on System Services, and Turn off the location-based Apple Ads option.
disable Location based Ads

Reset Advertising Identifier

Resetting Advertising Identifier doesn’t erase the data Apple collected about you, but it denies the third party having access to your information. You might consider resetting your advertising identifier alongside the disabling ad tracking for more privacy. In view of resetting your advertising identifier, Apple gives you a different identifying number that can’t be traceable to the previous identifier.

To Reset Advertising Identifier Follow the below steps.

  1. Go to the settings on your iPhone.
  2. Visit the Privacy option.
  3. Tap on the Reset Advertising Identifier icon and confirm that you want to reset it.
Reset Advertising Identifier

How to Disable Background App Refresh?

There are some apps that operate even when you are not using them, that is the function of background app refresh. It helps to back up your data and to receive new messages while this is quite incredibly useful, some apps might utilize the opportunity to access your data and disclose them to advertisers. This is also a means of reducing ad tracking on your device.

To turn off Background App Refresh

  1. Open the ‘Settings’.
  2. Go to the ‘General’ 
  3. Tap on the Background App Refresh.
  4. Tap on it to turn it off. You can as well disable ad tracking for some specific apps perhaps you might not want to turn it off completely.
Disable Ad Tracking
Disable Background App Refresh

How to Disable Ad Tracking on your iPhone Internet Browsers?

One of the ways third parties gain access to your information and send targeted ads to you is via your internet browser. You can’t totally disable targeted ads through your internet browser but you can reduce it by changing some of your browser settings.

Below are some popular iPhone browsers and guidelines on how to limit ad tracking on them

Disable Ad Tracking Google Chrome

Across all the Google apps, Google uses what is called Google Lead services in your account settings to track your data. Disabling Google Lead will reduce ad tracking in your Google Chrome. To disable Google Chrome ad tracking follow the below steps:

  1. Launch the Google Chrome app.
  2. Tap on the three-dot menu (…) displayed at the bottom-right corner of your screen to open the menu.
  3. Go to the settings.
  4. Tap on the Google Account’ right at the top of the screen
  5. Tap on ‘Personal info & privacy’
  6. Scroll down and select ‘Ad settings’
  7. Turn off the ‘Ad personalization’
Disable Ad Tracking
Disable Ad Tracking on Google Chrome

Disable Ad Tracking on Safari

Safari provides you with lots of privacy options but not with a price as it might affect some website’s operations. However, preventing cross-site tracking and turning off cookies will help you to disable ad tracking.                                                                                                     

  1. Go to the ‘Settings’
  2. Tap on ‘Safari’
  3. Tap ‘Privacy & Settings’
  4. Turn on the ‘Prevent Cross-Site Tracking’ option and also, turn on ‘Block All Cookies’
Disable Ad Tracking
Disable Ad Tracking on Safari

Disable Ad Tracking on Mozilla Firefox

By default, Mozilla Firefox allows some privacy features as the app focuses on privacy. On the off chance that you disable all the privacy settings, you can verify if ad tracking is disabled on the app by:

  1. Launch the Mozilla Firefox app’
  2. At the bottom right corner, tap the “three-line dot (…)’
  3. Tap on the ‘Settings’
  4. Go to the ‘Privacy option’
  5. Tap on ‘Tracking Protection’
  6. Turn on ‘Enhanced Tracking Protection’. Select either ‘Standard’ or ‘Strict’ Protection. The Strict Protection will block more ad trackers but may affect some websites and stop them from working. 
Disable Ad Tracking
Disable Ad Tracking on Mozilla Firefox

Disable Ad Tracking on Social Media

Social media companies also have a way of accessing your data and storm your news feeds with targeted ads. Facebook is one of the social media platforms that access your data, disabling ad tracking will prevent targeted ads on your iPhone.  

To completely eliminate targeted ads might be impossible. After disabling ad tracking on your iPhone and iOS browser, you will need to make some resetting on your social media platforms as well. It is better if you do research on the web and find a solution to stop the tracking.

This post is written based on the below searches, I sure hope this come in handy.

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