German antitrust authority prompts Apple to adjust tracking protection
App Tracking Transparency on the iPhone is considered a milestone in protection against personalized advertising. However, according to the German authorities, Apple has systematically favored its own apps.
Apple is comprehensively restructuring its protection against tracking in Germany. The Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) has concluded proceedings against the App Tracking Transparency Framework (ATTF) and accepted binding commitments from the company. At the core was the accusation that Apple favored its own services over third-party providers when obtaining tracking consent.
Since the introduction of the ATTF in April 2021, apps have been required to ask for consent before using tracking data for personalized advertising. If you decline, the advertising ID that Apple assigns to every device is, among other things, turned off. With this ID, providers can create profiles across apps, including location data, and derive interests. The ATTF is considered a milestone in smartphone data protection.
Neutral text instead of "deterrent" elements
The strict requirements applied to third-party apps, but not to Apple's own. And according to the Cartel Office's assessment, Apple designed the consent prompts in such a way that users rejected third-party tracking by default. For example, Apple used warning symbols and wording that made tracking appear particularly risky. The company must now remove these "deterrent" elements. In the future, the prompts are to appear visually and linguistically neutral.
At the same time, Apple must align the consent process for its own advertising tracking with the rules for third-party providers. The various notices and selection options must no longer differ in a way that gives Apple a competitive advantage. The proceedings are based on a law that applies to digital companies with "paramount significance across markets." The Federal Court of Justice confirmed Apple's special status in 2025.
Third-party providers will also be given more creative freedom. In the future, they will be able to explain in Apple's system in up to 4,000 characters why personalized advertising is important for their business model. Furthermore, they are allowed to combine the consent required by Apple with data protection-related consents. This allows users to make both decisions in one step instead of clicking through multiple windows.
An Apple spokesperson writes in a statement: "We are convinced that the current ATT prompt is clear, understandable, and effective in enabling users to control their data. This assessment is also shared by German data protection authorities. Nevertheless, at the request of the Federal Cartel Office, we have agreed to adjust the text and design of the prompt. This commitment ensures that we can continue to offer this important privacy tool in Europe and that users themselves determine what happens to their data, rather than ad-tech companies and data brokers."
Success for advertising associations, but not necessarily for user-friendliness
The Cartel Office emphasizes that the goal is not higher consent rates, but informed and as uninfluenced decisions as possible – both for and against personalized advertising. For iPhone owners, the decision is likely to lead to more cumbersome dialog windows in everyday use. They are expected to be longer and contain additional links.
The proceedings were initiated by complaints from advertising and media associations, which see Apple's strict tracking protection as an interference with their ad-financed business models. Large platforms like Meta had complained of significant revenue losses due to less targeted advertising after the introduction of the ATTF.
Apple now has four months to implement the promised changes. The obligations apply for seven years and will be monitored by an independent trustee. Apple will implement them not only in Germany but also in almost all other EU countries. This is because antitrust authorities in France and Italy have already imposed millions in fines on the company. Swiss iPhone users are likely to be spared the longer ATT dialogs for the time being.
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