Apple to Adjust App Tracking Transparency Prompts in the EU

Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework was introduced to give iPhone users clearer control over how apps collect and share data. Critics argued that Apple applied the ATT consent prompt to third-party developers while its own iPhone apps were exempt, claiming the company’s expanding advertising business created an uneven playing field. Earlier this year, German publishers petitioned the German antitrust regulator to require Apple to treat its apps the same as external developers.

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The German antitrust regulator concluded that Apple’s approach was “unfair” and, citing reporting from TNW, secured a remedy obligating Apple to modify its ATT prompts across the European Union. Under the agreement, consent pop-ups shown to third-party developers must become visually and linguistically neutral, removing wording that could steer users toward refusal. Developers will also be permitted to merge Apple’s mandatory tracking request with their own data-protection prompts, eliminating the need for users to confront two separate dialogs. Apple has four months to implement these changes, and compliance will be overseen for a seven-year monitoring period.

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Apple acknowledged the regulator’s concerns and described the required adjustments as “minor.” The company reiterated its view that privacy is a fundamental human right and that the existing ATT prompt already offers a clear, easy-to-understand method for users to control cross-app tracking. Nonetheless, Apple agreed to revise the text and formatting of the prompt at the regulator’s request.

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A recent poll of 9to5Mac readers indicated that an overwhelming majority believe Apple should exit the advertising business, reflecting broader consumer scrutiny of the company’s data-handling practices.

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