China’s tech giants are exploring a way around Apple’s privacy changes, and the move could have major implications for Apple’s relationship with a crucial market

• The China Advertising Association is testing an China Advertising ID.
• The CAID appears to be a way to skirt Apple’s forthcoming app-tracking changes.
• The CAA’s membership includes major Chinese tech companies ByteDance and Tencent.

Apple could soon face a major test of how strictly it plans to enforce its forthcoming app privacy policies after it emerged that some of China’s biggest tech companies are testing a solution to skirt the change.

The Financial Times reported Monday that ByteDance and Tencent were among the companies testing a China Advertising ID, known as CAID, which is being developed by the state-backed trade group the China Advertising Association. Early documentation for the solution suggests such an ID would let apps track users for advertising purposes even if those users didn’t explicitly opt in.

Apple’s decision on whether it plans to allow or prevent the CAID once its new app privacy rules are rolled out could have major implications on its relationship with a key market.