After six beta versions, Apple appears to be gearing up for the worldwide release of iOS 14.5. The company has not confirmed this, but a string of rejections in the App Store indicates that a release is imminent.

A number of app developers told Forbes that they have begun receiving rejection letters from Apple highlighting section 3.3.9 of the Developer Program License Agreement (part of Apple's instructions that explain how user data is used and shared) They have begun to receive them.

"We found in our review that your app collects user and device information to create a unique identifier for the user's device," the rejection reads.

"An app that fingerprints a user's device in this manner violates the Apple Developer Program License Agreement and is not appropriate for the App Store.

"Specifically, your app uses algorithmically converted device and usage data to create a unique identifier to track users. While Apple will allow tracking in the future, it will only be allowed with the user's explicit permission via an opt-in prompt.

This is a relatively new rule introduced in iOS 14, but Apple was going to give developers a grace period to introduce some fairly radical changes. This is such a big deal that Apple has a dedicated page for developers explaining the requirements. In short, the release of iOS 14.5 is the deadline for these app tracking transparency policies to be implemented in apps, and if Apple is now actively enforcing the updated rules, then logically that means an update is not too far off.

The Forbes report lists only a handful of apps that were rejected, including Heetch, Radish Fiction, and InnoGames, which apparently only scratches the surface of the affected developers. According to mobile marketing analyst Eric Seufert, Apple initially rejected apps with the Adjust SDK installed.

Subsequently, Adjust reportedly removed code that accessed device data such as CPU type, available memory, state of charge, and battery level. These are all things that can be used to identify a particular phone without an advertising identifier.

iOS updates often coincide to take advantage of new hardware, and it seems to fit neatly with Apple's rumored April event. iPad Pro 2021 is expected, and iPadOS and iOS share much of the same DNA Given that they share much of the same DNA, it seems likely that the two will be updated jointly this month.