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Limit Ad Tracking (LAT)
- 13 Feb 2023
- 2 Minutes to read
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Limit Ad Tracking (LAT)
- Updated on 13 Feb 2023
- 2 Minutes to read
- Print
- DarkLight
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What is Limit Ad Tracking (LAT)?
Limit Ad Tracking (LAT) is the old name of the iOS switcher that turned a device's IDFA into a string of zeros. Regardless of the app that a user launched, their IDFA is going to be a string of zeros. iOS 14 has introduced ATT (App Tracking Transparency), enabling a more comprehensive approach to the user's ad tracking preferences.
It's important to understand that when a user turns LAT on, they still see advertisements. However, these advertisements will not be targeted advertisements. The same logic works with ATT.
What is an example of Limit Ad Tracking (LAT)?
Let's consider the following example. Jack loves basketball and he always searches for the latest NBA news and shops for a new jersey on Amazon. Whenever he goes online from his phone, he sees ads for basketball goods. Lately, however, he discovered an option on his iPhone prompting him to turn the Limit Ad Tracking on, so he decided to give it a try. Now Jack sees the same amount of ads, but this time they are not basketball ads. They are ads for vacuum cleaners, spa resorts, concerts, and a bunch of other things that Jack is not interested in.
What is the difference between LAT and ATT?
You can look at ATT as a new and improved version of LAT. Let's take a side-by-side comparison:
| Category | LAT | ATT |
|---|---|---|
| How are they enabled? | Can be enabled only through iOS settings | Shown when a user opens an app (or in a custom event determined by a developer). Also available via iOS setting with an option to choose apps that should have access to IDFA |
| Which iOS version are they available for? | Available for iOS 10+ up to iOS 14.4 | Only shown for iOS 14.5+ |
| How to they work with IDFA? | Turn IDFA into a string of zeros for all apps | Turn IDFA into a string of zeros only for apps where a user chose to opt out from ad tracking |
| Are they enabled by default? | LAT is disabled by default, so if a user does not switch it off in the settings, their IDFA is going to be accessible from all apps | ATT is enabled by default, so when the ATT prompt is not shown, a user's IDFA is not available |
Is there LAT for Android?
There is a feature similar to LAT on Android. Starting with Android 12, there is an option to delete the Advertising ID. Previous Android versions have two options:
- To reset the Advertising ID
- To toggle off the opt-in from the Ad personalization switcher. This option only sends an additional flag to an app. The advertising ID remains accessible.
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