Apple has reached an agreement with Germany’s Federal Cartel Office to modify its App Tracking Transparency prompt, resolving a regulatory dispute over how the privacy feature treats Apple’s own apps differently from third-party apps.
The core objection from the Bundeskartellamt was not simply about wording. The regulator found that Apple designed different consent requests for its own offerings versus apps from outside developers.
Third-party apps must obtain user permission through Apple’s predefined ATT prompt before tracking activity across other companies’ apps and websites, but Apple’s own apps were not subject to the same requirement. Under the settlement, Apple will bring those consent prompts into closer alignment.
What Changes and When
Specifically, Apple agreed to remove what the regulator described as “possibly discouraging symbols and wording” from the ATT prompt shown for third-party apps.
Apps will also be given more room to explain to users what personalized advertising means for their business, and the freedom to combine Apple’s consent request with the consent requirements already in place under European data protection law.
The changes will be tested with developers before rolling out broadly, and Apple has four months from formal service of the decision to implement them. The commitments run for seven years.
Apple maintained throughout the proceedings that App Tracking Transparency protects user privacy and complies with German competition law, and reiterated that position in a statement following the agreement.
“While we believe the current ATT prompt provides a clear, easy-to-understand and effective way to keep users in control of their data — an opinion shared by the German data protection authorities — we have agreed to make changes to the text and formatting of the prompt at the FCO’s request,” the company said.
Apple framed the commitments as a way to preserve the feature in Europe while keeping users rather than “ad tech companies and data brokers” in control of their data.
Broader Regulatory Pressure
Germany is not the only country where App Tracking Transparency has drawn regulatory scrutiny. Apple has faced similar challenges in France, Italy, and Poland, as well as directly from the European Commission.
The feature has also long drawn criticism from advertisers, who say it significantly cut into their revenue after Apple introduced it with iOS 14.5 in April 2021.
ATT requires apps to ask permission before accessing the device’s advertising identifier, which is used to link a user’s behavior across different apps and websites for targeted advertising. When a user selects “Ask App Not to Track,” the app loses access to that identifier entirely.
The Bundeskartellamt said the proceedings have concluded with the binding commitments now in place.
Apple’s changes will affect how the ATT prompt appears in Germany, though the company has not said whether any modifications will extend beyond that market.
