Apple gathers information and interests like your app search history, music, TV shows, news reading history, and more. It uses these to show you personal ads in the App Store, Stocks, Apple News, etc. However, you can easily choose to opt-out and turn off ad tracking on iPhone and iPad running iOS 14 / 13. Once you disable ad tracking, this does not mean that you would stop seeing the ads. Neither does it mean that the number of ads served to you will decrease. It merely means that the ads you see will not be personalized and thus less relevant. Apple calls it ‘Limit Ad Tracking.’ Let us see how to turn it ON and stop getting targeted ads on iPhone and iPad.
- How to Disable Ad Tracking on iPhone or iPad
- What to Do If Limit Ad Tracking is Grayed Out in iOS 14 / 13?
- How to Disable Location-Based Ads on iPhone and iPad
How to Disable Ad Tracking on iPhone or iPad
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Scroll down and tap Privacy.
- Tap Advertising. Wait for it to finish loading
- Turn ON the toggle for Limit Ad Tracking.
You have opted out of receiving targeted ads. From now on, the ads may not be according to your usages and interests.
- Next, you may also tap on Reset Advertising Identifier and reset all the identifiers (your interests) that have been gathered by Apple up to this point
- To view the information Apple uses to deliver targeted ads, tap View Ad information.
What to Do If Limit Ad Tracking is Grayed Out in iOS 14 / 13?
Is the option for Limit Ad Tracking grayed out on iPhone or iPad and you can not turn it ON or OFF? If yes, here is what to do.
- In the iPhone Settings app, tap Screen Time → Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
- Tap Advertising → Select Allow on this screen.
- Now follow the first method.
After you successfully enable Limit Ad Tracking, go back to Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → Advertising → and select Don’t Allow.
Limit Ad Tracking Still Appears Grayed Out?
Even after following the above steps (that is, allowing changes in Privacy Restrictions) if Limit Ad Tracking appears gray on your iPhone or iPad, it is time to sign out of Apple ID.
- For this, inside the Settings app, tap iTunes & App Store.
- Tap on your Apple ID, and select Sign Out from the popup. After this, go back to the Limit Ad Tracking screen. It will no longer be grayed out.
After you switch ON Limit Ad Tracking, you may follow the same steps and sign back into the iTunes and App Store using your Apple ID.
How to Disable Location-Based Ads on iPhone and iPad
No longer want to see ads based on location? Or no longer wish to let Apple collect your location data for advertisement purposes? Here is how to turn off location-based ads on iOS device.
- Open Settings → Tap on Privacy → Tap on Location Services.
- Scroll down and tap System Services → Turn OFF the toggle for Location-Based Apple Ads.
That’s all, folks!
This was how to limit ad tracking on your iPhone and iPad. Finally, if you own a Mac, you can Limit Ad Tracking by going to System Preferences → Security & Privacy → Advertising from the bottom of the left sidebar.
You may like to read these related posts:
- Prevent Websites from Tracking You While Using Safari on iPhone or iPad
- How to Disable Data Tracking on AT&T, Verizon, Sprint & T-Mobile
Do you have a question or suggestion? Mention it in the comments below. We will follow it up with you.
The founder of iGeeksBlog, Dhvanesh, is an Apple aficionado, who cannot stand even a slight innuendo about Apple products. He dons the cap of editor-in-chief to make sure that articles match the quality standard before they are published.