Apple is said to be delaying its new privacy rule which the company will be implementing with its iOS 14 which will make developers ask users for permission to gather data as well as track them across mobile apps and websites on the iPhone and iPad according to an update which the company put out on Thursday.

The original intention of the update was to go live wit the iOS 14 which is expected to be released alongside the iPhone 12 series but the company is said tot be giving developers more time for them to comply with the new changes.

Facebook is among the company concerned with the changes which said it would stop using the unique identifiers which Apple intends to warn users about but then expressed its concern for third-party advertisers on its network that can’t afford to do the same.

“We are committed to ensuring users can choose whether or not they allow an app to track them. To give developers time to make necessary changes, apps will be required to obtain permission to track users starting early next year,” reads the developer note.

Apple added that developers can start complying to the new rule by the time the iOS 14 officially launches so far they chose to but it then won’t allow them to do so until the year 2021.

“WE ARE COMMITTED TO ENSURING USERS CAN CHOOSE WHETHER OR NOT THEY ALLOW AN APP TO TRACK THEM.”

“We believe technology should protect users’ fundamental right to privacy, and that means giving users tools to understand which apps and websites may be sharing their data with other companies for advertising or advertising measurement purposes, as well as the tools to revoke permission for this tracking,” Apple said in a statement given to The Verge. “When enabled, a system prompt will give users the ability to allow or reject that tracking on an app-by-app basis. We want to give developers the time they need to make the necessary changes, and as a result, the requirement to use this tracking permission will go into effect early next year.”

It’s worth noting that the company isn’t on the brink of war against digital and mobile ad industries but the privacy feature is among the iPhone maker’s most aggressive developer policy changes which it introduced probably to amend the excesses and give the iPhone users more controls.

The new policy was introduced back during the WWDC in June with the new feature meant to prompt users when an app makes request for their Identification for Advertisers or IDFA code. With this, users are expected to either accept or decline thtis request.

Ad-powered services such as Facebook had made it known that the feature will be a big blow back to it’s ad network based on reports about the matter as the company looks to stop collecting the IDFA codes.

The IDFA is a unique identifier code which allow advertisers track the effectiveness of ads on mobile apps, websites, email clients and much more altogether. With that, advertisers can see when user have for example downloaded an iOS game from an app install ad within the Facebook iOS mobile app or if you clicked on a product within Instagram that redirects you to an online web store for purchase.

The system can be a bit complicated even though there are other means by which advertisers track users interaction with ads on their platforms. But the IDFA is the industry-standard approach which is effective across various ad types, devices and platforms.

Moving away from the ad privacy policy, there is another new privacy policy which Apple says developers will need to read up on n order for them to be compliant later on this year. This is a new list of privacy information which will be attached to App Store product listings detailing in depth how a given app collects, store information throughout series of domains ranging from health and fitness data to location information as well as web browsing history.

“On each app’s product page, users can learn about some of the data types the app may collect, and whether that data is linked to them or used to track them. You’ll need to provide information about your app’s privacy practices, including the practices of third-party partners whose code you integrate into your app, in App Store Connect starting this fall,” reads a new page Apple published on its developer portal on Thursday.

The page shows the kinds of data which developer will have to disclose its collection methods for and even guidelines over how a developer communicates the way it uses the said data. That way, developers will then be asked to identify whether “each data type is linked to a user’s account, device, or identity by you and/or your third-party partners.” There are also instructions around disclosures for tracking and privacy policies.