Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg apparently had enough concerns about Apple's push to allow iOS 14.5 users to decline tracking. According to a new survey, 96% of iPhone users with iOS 14.5 prefer not to have tracking enabled. For a company like Facebook, which makes its money primarily from advertising, not knowing what people are searching for on their phones means less data to connect advertisers with potential customers.

In fact, only about 4% of U.S. iPhone owners agree to allow apps like Facebook and Instagram to access their Identifier for Advertisers tag (IDFA). This is according to Flurry Analytics (owned by Verizon). When other parts of the world are taken into account, the situation changes a bit, with roughly 12% of people giving apps permission to track their habits.

Apple CEO Tim Cook previously explained the change on Twitter, saying Facebook can still track users on its apps and websites, but with iOS 14's App Tracking Transparency, we only need to ask the user's permission first."

Cook also stated.

According to Cook, Apple wants to give users a say in how their data is used. Facebook believes that if you buy a shirt from an online store, it should know enough information to push ads for pants that fit it. The two sides have been at odds on this issue for some time.

Zuckerberg said on an earnings call in January, "Apple may say they are doing it to help people, but their move is clearly chasing their competitive interests." [At least at this point, Apple is not competing with Facebook. Apple does not own the social network. It also sells advertising to some extent, but it is small compared to Facebook's revenues.

If Facebook just wants to make itself more appealing to consumers by offering them choices that Apple offers consumers, well, so be it. That is the goal, and it seems to be well received by end users. Apple must also follow its own rules. It does not track iPhone and iPad owners on third-party sites.

With iOS 14.5, preventing apps from asking for permission to track your online activity is surprisingly easy. Head to Settings > Privacy and press Tracking. If the toggle isn't set to off, you can do so and the app won't bother you about it, except for Instagram and Facebook, of course. You'll also see all the apps you've denied access to, as well as an option to manually toggle the setting if you so desire.