Apple’s Webkit to launch new privacy feature for ad tracking

Apple Inc said this week that its browser engine Webkit will launch a new technology to track advertising clicks and whether they lead to a product purchase while preserving the privacy of users.

Users will not be uniquely identified across websites they visit in order to track ad clicks, and the technology will only let those websites be involved in measuring the clicks, not any “opaque” third parties, according to a blog post on Webkit’s website.

Apple’s step shows how increased public scrutiny is forcing greater transparency in Silicon Valley, particularly as its tech rivals Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google have struggled with data privacy scandals.