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Comment by K0nserv | Hacker News Reader

Apple sets Advertising Tracking ID to 00000-0000 because it's the only technical control they have. However, apps are also supposed to respect the signal with regards to other methods of cross-site/app tracking and disable fingerprinting mechanisms.

See https://developer.apple.com/app-store/user-privacy-and-data-... for details

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It's not the only technical control they have - every single datapoint an app can gather is ultimately provided from the OS. They could let you disable access to metrics that have proven to be useful for fingerprinting. They could also attempt block known tracking code - all games with IronSource ads will run the same tracker binary, byte for byte. There's a lot of things they could do, but don't, since in the mainstream they have a pretty good reputation when it comes to privacy.

They have other controls. For example, a game does not need to know your precise battery level (respect the low power mode setting), or precise screen brightness (respect the dark mode setting), or precise storage or volume (appropriate is sufficient). They really don't need to know if you're using wired or bluetooth headphones, and can request a specific entitlement if they have a valid use for that information.

99% of games do not need precise location (some exceptions are pokemon go, etc). They can request and receive an entitlement.

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