U.S. consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) has partnered with Chinese trade groups and technology firms to develop a technology to collect iPhone data for targeted ads, aiming to sidestep Apple’s new privacy rules, according to The Wall Street Journal.

P&G has teamed up with dozens of Chinese trade groups and technology companies working with the China Advertising Association (CAA) to develop the new technology, called “device fingerprinting”.

A device fingerprint is a device characteristic or unique device identifier to identify the device. The program, called China Advertising ID (CAID), the advertising method is being tested through apps and collects iPhone user data. By an algorithm, device fingerprinting can track users for delivering targeted ads, which is what Apple seeks to prevent.

Apple will roll out a software update in the next few weeks that will require apps to be approved by users before they can track them.

P&G said in a statement that it is providing information to the Chinese trade groups in line with the company’s goal, to provide consumers with the helpful content they want in a way that prioritizes data privacy, transparency, and consent.

In addition to P&G, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance and Tencent Holdings Ltd. are also participating in the test, according to people familiar with the matter. These companies operate some of the most widely used apps in China.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/p-g-worked-with-china-trade-group-on-tech-to-sidestep-apple-privacy-rules-11617902840