The Apps That Can Track You Even After You’ve Uninstalled Them

If you thought deleting an app meant that was the last you’d ever see of it, think again.

Developers have figured out a way to determine which users have deleted an app and swiftly serve them up a bevvy of ads in a bid to get them to return.

A variety of firms have signed up as customers of these app tracking companies, which include Adjust, AppsFlyer, MoEngage, Localytics and CleverTap, among others, according to Bloomberg.

Developers have figured out a way to determine which users have deleted an app and swiftly serve them up a bevvy of ads in a bid to get them to return to the software

These firms often offer uninstall trackers as part of a longer list of developer tools.

App developers are able to discern whether or not the user has uninstalled their software by utilizing silent push notifications.

Many apps use them to perform tasks in the background when the user isn’t directly engaging with app.

For example, developers might send notifications to an installed app on a user’s phone to update content inside the app, such as refreshing an email inbox.

When a user has removed the app from their phone, the developer won’t receive a ping back from the device when they attempt to deliver a silent push notification.

It’s possible that the app uninstall trackers violate Apple and Google’s policies for iOS and Android, though neither firm responded to Bloomberg’s request for comment

Thanks to technology developed by those app tracking companies, developers can add those changes to the file linked to the mobile device’s unique advertising ID, marking it as uninstalled, Bloomberg noted.

From there, this gives them the tools to be able to track the device owner wherever they go and serve up targeted advertisements beckoning them to re-download the app.

It’s possible that the trackers violate Apple and Google’s policies for iOS and Android, though neither firm responded to Bloomberg’s request for comment.

‘It’s just generally sketchy to track people around the internet after they’ve opted out of using your product,’ Alex Austin, CEO of Branch Metrics Inc., told Bloomberg.

Some app developers say the uninstall tracking features are used to improve their software and rid it of common bugs.

However, it seems unlikely that many users would deem it fair that an app be allowed to track their devices after they’ve uninstalled it.

For example, users can anonymize their device’s unique advertising ID by turning on ‘Limit Ad Tracking.’

This can be done by going to Settings, then Privacy and navigating to the ‘Advertising’ section.

From there, users can swipe to turn on ‘Limit Ad Tracking.’ This makes it so that advertisers see your unique identifier as a string of zeroes, safeguarding your identity from trackers.