Consent-free App Tracking
When analysing the use of native apps, the same legal regulations apply as for websites, i.e. the GDPR and the Telecommunications and Telemedia Data Protection Act (TTDSG). In addition, there are the guidelines of the app stores, above all Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Framework (ATT), which has been in effect since iOS 14.5. However, Apple does not require consent for every type of usage analysis. Rather, Apple uses the term tracking to refer specifically to the sharing of collected data with third parties:
“Tracking refers to the act of linking user or device data collected from your app with user or device data collected from other companies’ apps, websites, or offline properties for targeted advertising or advertising measurement purposes. Tracking also refers to sharing user or device data with data brokers.”
(see: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/user-privacy-and-data-use/)
App analytics for anonymous analysing the use of one’s own app must be clearly separated from cross-app and cross-website tracking for advertising purposes.
Analogous to website analysis, etracker’s app analytics tracking framework offers a consent-free option in compliance with the German Data Protection Act (GDPR) and the Telecommunications and Telemedia Data Protection Act (TTDSG), as well as with the Apple and Google App Store guidelines.
By the way, the opt-in rate for ATT is 25% worldwide. With mandatory consent, three-quarters of the usage data is lost. Fortunately, this can be avoided for app analysis purposes!