From Columbia Journalism Review
Apple’s new iOS 11 operating system, set for release today, will lead to several changes in how readers consume news, be it through podcasts, Apple News, or the Web. It also brings tweaks to privacy and advertising guidelines that have implications for the news business.
Publishers have good reason to watch closely: There were more than 85.8 million iPhones in use in the US as of December 2016, and their owners are using the devices to consume news. Apple accounts for more than 40 percent of the US smartphone operating systems. And Apple News, the news aggregator built into iOS, is the nation’s top app for news.
Here’s a look at some of the changes for iPhone and iPad and what they mean for the news business:
The change: A new feature will make it harder for advertisers to track users
Apple is implementing a feature in Safari called “intelligent tracking prevention” that prevents advertisers from collecting certain types of data used to track readers and target advertisements. Currently, if you buy something on the web (or even if you’re just shopping for something), the purchase follows you across all sites.