Privacy activist Max Schrems led digital rights group Noyb in filing complaints against an online tracking tool owned by Apple Inc. (AAPL) the group made the filing with Spanish and German data protection authorities.
In the filing the group claims the online tracking tool allows IPhones to store users’ data without permission from the users which is in direct violation with European data privacy laws.
Noyb says that Apple uses an automatic tracking code that is automatically generated on every IPhone upon set up known as Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA). This code is stored in the device and it allows Apple and other third party applications to track behavior and consumer preference of an IPhone user.
“Apple places codes that are comparable to a cookie in its phones without any consent by the user. This is a clear breach of European Union privacy laws,” said Stefano Rossetti, the lawyer representing Noyb.
This type of data is very important when it comes to ads and online marketing. Many social networks and social platforms rely on this data to figure out the appropriate ad for a user.
