Google switches ad tracking ahead of Apple privacy update

As Apple's new app transparency policy deadline draws near, Google is slated to remove certain advertiser tracking tech from the iPhone versions of its own apps and switch to a different kind, Google said in a blog post Wednesday. Popular Google apps for iPhone like Maps and YouTube currently use a tool from Apple known as IDFA to track iPhone users' activity across platforms via a unique identifier. Under Apple's upcoming App Tracking Transparency update for iOS 14, iPhone users who download apps with IDFA will be prompted with a notification informing them and asking for consent.