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Privacy & Compliance Guide

Use TeadsPrivacy to pass GDPR, CCPA, and GPP consent to the SDK. If you use an IAB-compliant CMP, the SDK reads consent automatically.

Supported Privacy Standards​

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)​

Full support for European privacy requirements including:

  • IAB TCF v1.1 and v2.0 consent strings
  • Purpose and vendor consent management
  • Legitimate interest handling

CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)​

Complete CCPA compliance with:

  • IAB US Privacy String support
  • Opt-out mechanism implementation
  • Sale of personal information controls

GPP (Global Privacy Platform)​

Support for the IAB's Global Privacy Platform:

  • Multi-jurisdiction privacy signals
  • Section-specific consent handling
  • Future-proof privacy framework

ATT (App Tracking Transparency)​

iOS 14+ privacy features:

  • IDFA consent management
  • SKAdNetwork integration
  • Privacy nutrition labels support

Basic Implementation​

Automatic Privacy Detection​

The SDK automatically detects and respects privacy signals from your CMP (Consent Management Platform):

Swift-only: App/Scene are SwiftUI-only constructs with no Objective-C equivalent — see the Installation Guide for the Objective-C Teads.configure pattern in a UIKit AppDelegate.

import TeadsSDK

// The SDK automatically reads consent from UserDefaults
// No additional configuration needed if using IAB-compliant CMP

@main
struct YourApp: App {
    init() {
        // Initialize SDK - privacy is handled automatically
        Teads.configure(with: "YOUR_PARTNER_KEY")
    }
}

Manual Privacy Configuration​

For apps with custom consent implementations:

import TeadsSDK

class PrivacyManager {

    func configurePrivacy() {
        let privacy = TeadsPrivacy.shared

        // GDPR consent
        privacy.setGDPRApplies(true)
        privacy.setGDPRConsentString("YOUR_CONSENT_STRING")

        // CCPA consent
        privacy.setUSPrivacyString("1YNN")

        // GPP consent
        privacy.setGPPString("DBABLA~BAAAAAAAAAA")

        // IDFA consent
        privacy.setIDFAConsent(true)
    }
}

Complete Privacy Implementation Example​

If you are not using a CMP, set consent yourself:

import TeadsSDK
import AppTrackingTransparency
import AdSupport

class ComprehensivePrivacyManager {

    static let shared = ComprehensivePrivacyManager()
    private let privacy = TeadsPrivacy.shared

    // MARK: - Initialization

    func initializePrivacy() {
        // Check for automatic consent
        if hasAutomaticConsent() {
            print("Using automatic consent from CMP")
        } else {
            // Configure manual consent
            configureManualConsent()
        }

        // Request IDFA if needed
        requestIDFAIfAppropriate()

        // Monitor consent changes
        observeConsentChanges()
    }

    // MARK: - Automatic Consent Detection

    private func hasAutomaticConsent() -> Bool {
        let defaults = UserDefaults.standard

        // Check for IAB consent strings
        let hasGDPR = defaults.object(forKey: "IABTCF_TCString") != nil
        let hasCCPA = defaults.object(forKey: "IABUSPrivacy_String") != nil
        let hasGPP = defaults.object(forKey: "IABGPP_HDR_GppString") != nil

        return hasGDPR || hasCCPA || hasGPP
    }

    // MARK: - Manual Configuration

    private func configureManualConsent() {
        // Determine user location
        let userLocation = determineUserLocation()

        switch userLocation {
        case .eu:
            configureGDPR()
        case .california:
            configureCCPA()
        case .other:
            configureDefaultPrivacy()
        }
    }

    private func configureGDPR() {
        // Check if user has given consent
        if let savedConsent = loadSavedGDPRConsent() {
            privacy.setGDPRApplies(true)
            privacy.setGDPRConsentString(savedConsent)
        } else {
            // Show consent dialog
            showGDPRConsentDialog()
        }
    }

    private func configureCCPA() {
        // Check opt-out status
        let optedOut = UserDefaults.standard.bool(forKey: "user_opted_out_ccpa")
        let usPrivacyString = optedOut ? "1YYN" : "1YNN"
        privacy.setUSPrivacyString(usPrivacyString)
    }

    private func configureDefaultPrivacy() {
        // No specific privacy requirements
        privacy.setGDPRApplies(false)
    }

    // MARK: - IDFA Management

    private func requestIDFAIfAppropriate() {
        // Only request if not determined
        guard ATTrackingManager.trackingAuthorizationStatus == .notDetermined else {
            updateIDFAStatus()
            return
        }

        // Wait for appropriate moment
        DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 3.0) {
            self.requestIDFAPermission()
        }
    }

    private func requestIDFAPermission() {
        ATTrackingManager.requestTrackingAuthorization { [weak self] status in
            self?.updateIDFAStatus()
        }
    }

    private func updateIDFAStatus() {
        let authorized = ATTrackingManager.trackingAuthorizationStatus == .authorized
        privacy.setIDFAConsent(authorized)

        if authorized {
            let idfa = ASIdentifierManager.shared().advertisingIdentifier.uuidString
            print("IDFA available: \(idfa)")
        }
    }

    // MARK: - Consent Monitoring

    private func observeConsentChanges() {
        // Monitor UserDefaults for consent changes
        NotificationCenter.default.addObserver(
            self,
            selector: #selector(consentDidChange),
            name: UserDefaults.didChangeNotification,
            object: nil
        )
    }

    @objc private func consentDidChange() {
        // Re-read consent values
        initializePrivacy()
    }

    // MARK: - Consent UI

    private func showGDPRConsentDialog() {
        // Show your consent UI
        ConsentViewController.present { [weak self] consentString in
            self?.privacy.setGDPRApplies(true)
            self?.privacy.setGDPRConsentString(consentString)
            self?.saveGDPRConsent(consentString)
        }
    }

    // MARK: - Persistence

    private func saveGDPRConsent(_ consent: String) {
        UserDefaults.standard.set(consent, forKey: "app_gdpr_consent")
    }

    private func loadSavedGDPRConsent() -> String? {
        UserDefaults.standard.string(forKey: "app_gdpr_consent")
    }

    // MARK: - Location Detection

    private enum UserLocation {
        case eu, california, other
    }

    private func determineUserLocation() -> UserLocation {
        // Implement location detection logic
        // This is a simplified example
        let locale = Locale.current
        let regionCode = locale.regionCode ?? ""

        let euCountries = ["AT", "BE", "BG", "HR", "CY", "CZ", "DK", "EE",
                          "FI", "FR", "DE", "GR", "HU", "IE", "IT", "LV",
                          "LT", "LU", "MT", "NL", "PL", "PT", "RO", "SK",
                          "SI", "ES", "SE"]

        if euCountries.contains(regionCode) {
            return .eu
        } else if regionCode == "US" {
            // Check if California (simplified)
            return .california
        } else {
            return .other
        }
    }
}

Testing Privacy Compliance​

Debug Privacy Settings​

#if DEBUG
extension TeadsPrivacy {

    func debugPrintPrivacyStatus() {
        print("=== Privacy Status ===")
        print("GDPR Applies: \(gdprApplies)")
        print("GDPR Consent: \(gdprConsentString ?? "none")")
        print("US Privacy: \(usPrivacyString ?? "none")")
        print("GPP String: \(gppString ?? "none")")
        print("IDFA Consent: \(idfaTrackingAuthorized)")
        print("===================")
    }
}

// Usage
TeadsPrivacy.shared.debugPrintPrivacyStatus()
#endif

Privacy Checklist​

Implementation Checklist​

  • Consent Management

    • Request user consent before loading the ad
    • Implement or integrate CMP
    • Handle GDPR consent
    • Handle CCPA compliance
    • Support GPP if applicable

  • iOS Specific

    • Implement ATT for iOS 14+
    • Update Info.plist privacy descriptions
    • Handle IDFA availability

  • Testing

    • Test with consent given
    • Test with consent denied
    • Test consent changes
    • Test different geographic regions

Info.plist Requirements​

Add these keys to your Info.plist:

<key>NSUserTrackingUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app uses your data to provide personalized ads that support our free content.</string>

<key>SKAdNetworkItems</key>
<array>
    <dict>
        <key>SKAdNetworkIdentifier</key>
        <string>teads-network-id.skadnetwork</string>
    </dict>
    <!-- Add other network IDs as needed -->
</array>

Best Practices​

1. Early Initialization​

Initialize privacy settings as early as possible:

Swift-only: App/Scene are SwiftUI-only constructs with no Objective-C equivalent — see the Installation Guide for the Objective-C Teads.configure pattern in a UIKit AppDelegate.

@main
struct YourApp: App {
    init() {
        // Initialize privacy first
        ComprehensivePrivacyManager.shared.initializePrivacy()

        // Then initialize SDK
        Teads.configure(with: "YOUR_PARTNER_KEY")
    }
}

Additional Resources​

Support​

For privacy-related questions:

Privacy is fundamental to building trust with your users. The Teads SDK helps you maintain that trust while maximizing monetization opportunities.