Apple is dedicated to knowledge safety in new adverts
The spot is the latest from the brand to show its commitment to privacy on its iPhones, and it introduces its new tracking transparency tool that allows users to turn off data tracking
Apple underscores its commitment to protecting the privacy of its iPhone users with a new ad that cleverly illustrates the way our data is constantly being tracked online.
The TBWA Media Arts Lab spot features a man buying a coffee, visiting a bank, and looking for potentially embarrassing medical products while an ever-growing crowd follows his behavior.
This isn't the first ad from Apple to illustrate the invisible tracking that happens online by placing it in the real world where it seems extremely intrusive and completely unacceptable.
Rather than just pointing out the problem, this new ad first shows Apple's solution: the tracking transparency tool, which allows users to choose which apps to track their activity elsewhere. When the figure in the display activates the tool, the curious visitors in the room disappear with him in a cloud of smoke.
Apple's decision to require app users to opt for tracking apps in the latest version of iOS rather than logging out through privacy settings has caused tremendous tremors among advertisers who rely on data tracking, and may be the first important step in a shift to customers who really have more control in the digital space.
As this Guardian article points out, there is some irony that it is a private company taking this move, rather than regulators. According to reports, so far over 90% of users of the new iPhone tool have chosen to refuse customers, sending a clear signal as to what kind of online world they would prefer.