Apple will change its App Tracking Transparency rules across almost all European Union countries after Germany’s competition authority raised concerns over how third-party apps seek advertising consent.
Germany’s Federal Cartel Office said Apple’s App Tracking Transparency, or ATT, framework gave the company’s own apps more favourable consent prompts than those shown by outside developers. The authority said the practice could breach competition rules.
Under Apple’s commitments, consent pop-ups for third-party apps will be redesigned to remove language and symbols that could discourage users from approving tracking. The prompts must also use visually and linguistically neutral wording.
Third-party app publishers will gain more flexibility to combine Apple’s required tracking-consent request with separate prompts required under data-protection rules.
Apple said it had changed the wording and design of the consent process at the German authority’s request. The company said the revised system would apply in almost all EU countries.
The changes could affect developers and advertising businesses that rely on user-level information for targeted advertising. Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, is among the major app publishers that use advertising data to improve ad targeting.
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Apple will have four months to implement the commitments after the decision is formally served. The measures will remain in force for seven years and will be monitored by an independent trustee.
The German action follows scrutiny elsewhere in Europe. France previously fined Apple €150 million over the ATT framework, while Italy imposed a €98.6 million penalty.
