Apple is making an iOS change to pressure AR and VR advertising

Apple’s Safari browser will quickly stop sites from using the phone’s motion data by default. And that will probably break the web-based AR and VR experiences based on this feature, With IOS 12.2. Apple has introduced a new privacy setting called “Motion and Orientation Access” in version 12.1 of the browser, which will be disabled by default.

Apple Safari

The report raised concerns that thousands of sites used scripts that pull data from a phone’s motion-sensors without the user’s consent. Many of these sites then used this data for tracking, analytics-gathering, and audience recognition.

The report noted that access to other data from a phone, such as location data, it is headed by a pop-up asking for user permission. But it’s now uncertain whether sites will be able to generate a similar notification to ask for access to motion data. But there are some sites which are speculating that an affected website could detect when Safari is being used to access it, and could direct a user to the relevant settings page to give their consent.

Even if this is possible, it could still be a problem for developers. The attraction of web-based AR and VR content is its low barrier to entry compared with alternatives that require a dedicated app or headset. However, requiring people to open their settings menu introduces a barrier — albeit a small one — that could be the difference between someone trying a VR experience for the first time, or giving it a pass.

Many VR and AR developers spoken said that they these changes in Safari will break features of their sites’ functionality.  Not only that, these changes in Safari operating system can affect web-based experiences. It will hurt the promotional sites for Sony’s First Man, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and the “Samsung Within” site.