How to Enable Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection on iPhone [iOS 17]

In this rapidly evolving digital age, preserving privacy has become more crucial than ever. With the iOS 17 update, Apple has brought several privacy-focused features to its device, which helps users secure their online footprints. One of their standout features is Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection, a tool designed to protect your browsing sessions from intrusive third-party trackers.

In this blog post, I will guide you on how to enable and use this feature on your iPhone. Private mode is no longer limited to browsing but can increase your overall browsing privacy across sessions. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced iPhone user, this article will make you master the new iOS 17 privacy settings.

What is Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection?

Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection is a new feature in iOS 17 that enhances online privacy in your Safari browser. This tool counters digital fingerprinting, a technique where companies track your unique online activities, hardware details, and software preferences to create a unique digital profile (create a Safari profile), thus enabling them to track your actions with high precision.

Digital fingerprinting works silently in the background, unlike easily managed cookies, which pose a serious threat to privacy. This Apple feature removes tracking parameters from URLs, preventing trackers from monitoring your online path, not just in private browsing but in all modes. This action disrupts the creation of your digital fingerprint and reduces your exposure to online tracking, thereby increasing your digital privacy.

Advantages

Advanced tracking and fingerprinting protection in iOS 17 offers several significant benefits, such as:

• Enhanced Privacy: This feature provides strong protection against unwanted tracking of your data and browsing habits on various websites and services.
• Protection against digital fingerprinting: This built-in feature combats the invasive practice of digital fingerprinting, which can create a unique digital profile based on your hardware and software details and browsing habits.
• Effective across all browsing sessions: Unlike some protections that are only active during private browsing, advanced tracking and fingerprinting protection can be extended to all browsing sessions for comprehensive coverage.
• Reduction in targeted ads: By preventing trackers from identifying you, this feature reduces the number of personalized ads you see, which can be beneficial to you if you choose not to use your online activity for advertising purposes.

These benefits make it an attractive choice for users who prioritize online privacy.

Disadvantages

While this feature on iOS 17 offers a significant increase in privacy, there are some disadvantages to be aware of:

• Less personalization: As trackers cannot identify your browsing habits, you may see less personalized ads and search results, which may sometimes lead to irrelevant content.
• Location-Specific Search: Because trackers cannot determine your location, search results may not be relevant to your specific region. This can be an inconvenience if you often need location-specific results.
• Manual Input: To receive personalized results or advertisements, you may need to manually input your preferences or location each time, which may consume your time.
• Limited utility of protection: If you choose to allow websites to use GPS for certain results, it may make advanced tracking and fingerprinting protection less effective.

These are the possible considerations when deciding to enable this feature on your iPhone.

Enable “Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection” All Browsing Sessions in Safari

Here is a step-by-step guide to enable advanced tracking and fingerprinting protection across all browsing sessions in Safari, follow the steps below for this process:

Launch the Settings app on your device. Scroll down and Select “Safari”.

Scroll down and choose “Advanced”.

Under the “PRIVACY” section, tap on “Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection”.

Finally, select “All Browsing”.

Once done, Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection will be active across all your browsing sessions.

In conclusion, this feature introduced in iOS 17 is designed to enhance your online privacy. It protects against intrusive tracking and digital fingerprinting across all browsing sessions and Safari profiles. While it may affect individual search results and ads somewhat, the added level of privacy may be worth considering. Activate this feature and you can navigate your digital world with more confidence and control.

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