Apple’s Kid-Focused Privacy Update: How We Help

This week, Apple updated their App Store Review Guidelines to prohibit developers from using any third-party data trackers in apps aimed at children. This ban has come into effect immediately for new apps, and takes effect September 3, 2019. (This means new apps cannot contain these types of data collection tools, and existing apps have a few months to remove third-party tracking technology from their apps.)

As a company that helps mobile developers creating compelling in-app experiences, we here at Taplytics are excited to see Apple leading the charge when it comes to protecting user data.

You may be wondering: why is a tech company that’s all about personalization happy to hear about it being harder to collect user data?

Well, it’s something we’ve been championing for a while now through our self-hosted deployment options. This installation type allows companies to keep their data solely to themselves (either on-premise or in their own private cloud) while still being able to leverage our industry-leading tools to create compelling user experiences across mobile, web, and other marketing channels.

Self-hosted installations: allowing brands to completely own their customer data

By using an on-premise or private cloud installation of Taplytics, our customers can leverage our optimization capabilities without ever sharing any data with us.

Instead of living in our public cloud, the Taplytics platform is integrated directly into a company’s existing data platform that resides within their own private cloud or on-premise systems. This way, data is never transferred to Taplytics to be processed or used for campaigns, targeting, etc.

Think of us as an ice cream cone maker. We give you the shell you need to serve up the right ice cream flavor to each customer—but we don’t have to personally learn what their favorite flavor is to help you do it.

It’s essentially the difference between using Microsoft Word on your desktop and Google Docs in the cloud. One allows you to keep everything on your hard drive, while the other moves it to the cloud—meaning you have to worry about how it’s being handled and transferred by a third-party.

The benefits of this installation type go beyond just preventing data from being sent to a third-party vendor. This method also makes being compliant with industry regulations—like HIPAA or COPPA—much less complicated. Now, companies don’t have to vet the vendor for compliance since their data will not leave the protection of their systems or reside outside of their servers.

The future of secure, optimized user experiences through first-party data ownership

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that privacy is a fundamental human right. We couldn’t agree more! We applaud Apple for taking the lead and being a model in our industry.

We believe more vendors should be offering this installation method. It lets brands better protect consumer data while still giving them a way to use innovative tools to transform how they personalize their customer’s journey across channels and products.

We’re proud to serve companies that want to protect users and deliver unique experiences at the same time. And we’re currently working with our existing mobile customers to make the transition from third- to first-party data usage by Apple’s deadline.

To learn more about our privacy and data protection options, visit our security page or contact us.