App News Round Up 09 December

If your business is in the process of launching an app or has one pencilled in for the New Year, you won’t want to miss our handy round up of all of the latest developments and breaking news in the industry.

Apple to launch transparency tracker next year

If your business app tracks users (for example for the purposes of advertising) from next year you will need to ask for user permission. Apple says that its delayed App Transparency Tracker will come into force early in 2021, after delaying its planned autumn launch a few weeks ago.

The App Tracking Transparency feature means users can’t be tracked unless they specifically give permission to an individual app to monitor their activity. Apple has already begun to take steps towards more transparency in this regard by introducing more information on to app download pages which shares what kind of data the app may collect from the user and whether or not that data is used to track their activity.

Apple says apps which don’t abide by the new opt-in rules will be removed from the App Store.

The Apple App of the Year Is …

As is tradition Apple has released its App of the Year picks in the last few days. The winner of this year’s title for the Apple Watch is Endel, an app which helps users to focus, sleep and relax with personalised soundscapes, with sounds customized to the user’s movement. Zoom won iPad App of the Year and Wakeout! (a workout app) was named iPhone App of the Year.

The Google App of the Year is…

Google has also published its own best apps of the year list, with Ioóna taking home the top honours. Ioóna is also sleep related. It describes itself as, “loóna isn't a list of direct go-to-sleep techniques, but rather a mood-altering app that prepares you emotionally for going to sleep.” The User’s Choice app of the year for Google went to Disney+ with Genshin Impact named as the best game for 2020.

Zoom also tops the charts

It’s likely no surprise given how many headlines Zoom has grabbed this year as the widespread shift to work from home took place but the Zoom app was the most downloaded app of 2020 according to Apple. In second place was TikTok, also no stranger to headlines this year.