Apple adjusts App Tracking Transparency in Germany under regulator pressure

Apple will adapt its advertising tracking pop-ups in Germany to make them more neutral. Third-party developers will be able to better explain the benefits of ad targeting and combine their consent requests with Apple’s.

Pop-ups deemed too discouraging for third-party apps

Germany’s competition regulator, the Bundeskartellamt, ruled that the current design of App Tracking Transparency (ATT) pop-ups encouraged users to reject tracking by third-party apps. Conversely, pop-ups for Apple’s personalized ads were designed to favor acceptance.

Criticized elements included the hand icon as a warning sign, phrasing like “tracking by the app” (perceived as negative) versus “personalized ads” (more neutral), vague descriptions of data usage, and limited space to explain the benefits of data sharing. The regulator also noted that the order of options (reject/accept) disadvantaged third-party apps.

The concrete changes

Apple has agreed to remove symbols and phrasing deemed discouraging in ATT pop-ups for third-party apps. Developers will now be able to:

• Use a neutral visual and linguistic design, aligned with Apple’s pop-ups.
• More clearly explain to users the importance of ad targeting for their business model.
• Combine the ATT consent request with other data protection-related consent requests.

These changes must be implemented in Germany within four months of the official notification of the decision. They will be tested with developers before deployment and will apply for seven years. According to Reuters, they could extend to nearly all European Union countries.

Apple defends its stance but concedes

Apple maintains that ATT protects user privacy and complies with German competition law. The company notes that German data protection authorities share its view on the clarity of the current pop-up. Nevertheless, it has accepted the modifications requested by the Bundeskartellamt.

“At Apple, we believe privacy is a fundamental human right, and we introduced App Tracking Transparency to give users a simple way to control whether apps are allowed to track their activity across other companies’ apps and websites. While we believe the current pop-up provides a clear and effective way to keep data control in users’ hands, we have agreed to modify the text and design at the FCO’s request.” — AppleTranslated from French

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A tense European context

This decision is part of a series of regulatory pressures in Europe. Since the launch of ATT with iOS 14.5 in April 2021, Apple has faced similar criticism in France, Italy, Poland, and from the European Commission. The German regulator notes that, as a “gatekeeper” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple is subject to heightened scrutiny to ensure a level playing field.

While the changes remain limited, they mark a step in balancing privacy protection and competitive fairness. Third-party developers gain visibility, but the debate over Apple’s competitive advantage in the iOS ecosystem remains open.