Daily Apple Privacy Stats and App Tracking Transparency

Last update: 5 Oct 2024 CET

Daily Apple Privacy Stats and App Tracking Transparency

Over the last few years, Apple has invested heavily in user privacy protections. In December 2020, for instance, with the release of iOS 14.3, the tech giant introduced App Privacy Details to the Apple App Store. This new feature requires publishers to provide information about their app’s privacy features in App Store Connect, including information about the practices of third-party partners whose code they integrate into their products. As such, App Privacy Details enables users to better understand an app’s privacy practices before they download it to their devices.

But Apple didn’t stop there. The April 26, 2021 release of iOS 14.5 was accompanied by more privacy-related changes. Chief among these is the App Tracking Transparency feature, which requires developers to request user permission before tracking them for advertising purposes.

In short, Apple is running a full-court press on behalf of user privacy. So, we here at 42matters decided to leverage our app intelligence solutions to see how publishers have incorporated Apple’s new privacy standards into their strategies.

Data Source: 42matters

At 42matters, we take a holistic approach to mobile and connected TV (CTV) app intelligence. We track app metadata, performance metrics, technical specifications, strategic insights, and more. If you would like to leverage our data for your own products, processes, or research, you can access it via our APIs, File Dumps, Explorer, and SDK Explorer.

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How Many iOS Apps on the App Store Use Privacy Labels?

Apps that track private information:

85.63%

1.80m+ Apps

Apps that don't track private information: 301.72k

85.63% of all iOS apps declare the private information they track. This amounts to 1,798,582 apps. Conversely, 14.37%, or 301,723 apps, have not yet declared the private information they track.

How Many iOS Apps Use Data to Track Users?

Apps that track users:

16.16%

339,343 Apps

83.84%, or 1,760,962 apps have not declared that they use data to track users.

16.16% of all iOS apps have declared that they use at least one data type to track users. This amounts to 339,343 apps. On the flip side, 83.84%, or 1,760,962 apps, have not declared that they use data to track users.

How Many iOS Apps Use Data Linked to Users?

Use data linked to users:

32.93%

691,527 Apps

67.07%, or 1,408,778 apps, have not declared that they use data linked to users.

32.93% of iOS apps use data linked to users. This amounts to a total of 691,527 apps. On the other hand, 67.07%, or 1,408,778 apps, have not declared that they use data linked to users.

How Many iOS Apps Use Data Not Linked to Users?

Use data not linked to users:

35.03%

735,771 Apps

64.97%, or 1,364,534 apps, have not declared using non-user data.

35.03% of iOS apps use data that is not linked to users. In total, this adds up to 735,771 apps. However, 64.97%, or 1,364,534 apps, have not declared using non-user data.

How Many iOS Apps Have Access to User Background Location?

Background Location refers to an aspect of Location Services where apps leverage information collected from cellular, Wi-Fi, and other networks to determine the approximate location of a device. Moreover, with this permission, apps do not need to be open to collect location information. Indeed, as the name implies, these apps operate at all times “in the background.”

Have access to background location:

18.91%

397,176 Apps

Currently, 18.91% of all iOS apps have declared that they leverage Background Location or they collect Coarse or Precise location. In total, this amounts to 397,176 apps.

How Many Free/Paid iOS Apps Collect Data?

Apps that Collect Data

Percentage of Apps

Number of Data Points

Free Apps: 51.41%
10.88 Data Points
Paid Apps: 13.55%
5.92 Data Points

51.41% of all free iOS apps have declared that they collect privacy data. This amounts to 1,027,847 apps. However, this also means that 48.59%, or 971,578 apps, have not declared that they collect privacy data. Moreover, if a free app collects privacy data, it will collect an average of 11 data types.

13.55% of paid iOS apps have declared that they collect privacy data. This amounts to 13,665 apps. However, this also means that 86.45%, or 87,215 apps, have not declared that they collect privacy data. In addition, if a paid app collects privacy data, it will collect an average of 6 data types.

Which App Store Genres Collect the Most Data?

In the chart below, you will see the App Store genres that collect the most types of data:

Genres that Collect the most Data

Currently, Arcade collects the most data types, averaging 26.68 types of data for every app that collects private information. Business is second, averaging 15.04 types of data; Lifestyle is third, averaging 15.13 types of data; Entertainment is fourth, averaging 23.43 types of data; and Education is fifth, averaging 13.31 types of data.

How Many iOS Apps per Genre Declare Data Collection

In the chart below, you will find the five genres that collect the most private data. This data is determined using the total number of apps that collect private data, as well as the percentage of apps that do so.

Average number of collected data types if app collects any
Percentage of apps that collect data

14,259 apps in the Arcade access private data. This represents 11.00% of apps in the genre. Next comes Business, with a total of 100,314 apps, or 11.00%; Lifestyle, with a total of 89,954 apps, or 9.86%; Entertainment, with a total of 12,313 apps, or 9.50%; and Education, with a total of 85,506 apps, or 9.38%.

What Do Apps Do With User Data?

Last, but not least, you’ll find a list of the uses for user data, declared by app publishers:

Data linked to you:

Data not linked to you:

Purpose of Data Linked to You

Currently, the most common use for this data is App Functionality, with 610,985 apps (88%) using it for this reason. The second most common use is Analytics (307,343; 44%), followed by Product Personalization (232,471; 34%), Developers Advertising (147,796; 21%); and Third Party Advertising (118,868; 17%).

Purpose of Data Not Linked to You

Here, the most common use is for App Functionality, with 525,329 apps (71%) using it for this reason. The second most common use is Analytics (428,430; 58%), followed by Third Party Advertising (147,182; 20%), Product Personalization (120,253; 16%); and Developers Advertising (74,840; 10%).

Looking for Data-Rich Insight Into the iOS App Market?

42matters provides mobile and connected TV (CTV) app intelligence via a host of useful APIs, file dumps, and web-based research platforms like the 42matters Explorer, and SDK Explorer.

Our products offer actionable insight into apps available Google Play, the Apple App Store, Amazon Appstore, Tencent App Store, Huawei AppGallery, and CTV platforms like Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Google TV, Vizio, LG, and Samsung.

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