Is it possible to put AdMob in my app without implementing the Apple ATT prompt?
As far as I can tell from the docs, if IDFA is used, then the ATT promot is required. On the other hand, I have no idea when or if the AdMob SDK uses the IDFA on iOS.
My research/thinking so far: The google documentation has been very confusing here too and lacks specificity. For example, in this article, the title "Decide whether Apple's ATT prompt is right for your app" - seems to indicate that the ATT prompt is optional. I know it is required if IDFA is used, and I have no idea when the AdMob SDK uses IDFA and when it doesn't! Perhaps Non-Personalized ads don't use IDFA. Does AdMob conditionally use IDFA or not? How would apple verify this when testing to see if the app violates their terms or not?
Also.. my app doesn't directly collect info on location, the user, etc. It would only be what AdMob collects for the purpose of ads, so I'm not sure if I need to disclose everything AdMob collects too or not.
Sages, thank you for any of your wisdom or clarification you can provide!
Yes, it should be possible to integrate with AdMob without implementing the Apple ATT. Although I'm not 100% sure and there's no clue, they probably use IDFA to provide Personalized Ads, track the ad conversion, etc.
As for the personalized ads, they just probably deliver non-personalized ads if they don't have access to the IDFA or they will do the personalization in alternative ways. Speaking of the ad conversion, it is officially described that it can be done without IDFA as follows.
The Google Mobile Ads SDK supports conversion tracking using Apple's SKAdNetwork, which lets Google and participating third-party buyers attribute an app install even when the IDFA is not available.
Ref. https://developers.google.com/admob/ios/privacy/strategies?hl=en
As you may know, unless getting permission from users via ATT dialog, neither the app developer nor AdMob can retrieve actual IDFA (we can only get the fake one like 0000-00...), so you don't need to worry that AdMob will violate the Apple privacy policy and get your app rejected by the Apple Review.
Regarding how you should act for the data disclosure, it should all be written in their document here. If my understanding is correct, you don't need to take care of what other SDKs collect as long as you follow Apple's Privacy Manifest implementation. GoogleMobileAds SDK should disclose its own in its Privacy Manifest.