Apple has agreed to soften its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) prompts in five European Union countries following a multi-year antitrust investigation by Germany’s federal competition regulator, according to medianama.com. The changes affect apps distributed in Germany, France, Italy, Poland, and Romania, allowing developers to replace the original ATT pop-up with a redesigned, less intrusive consent screen.
The updated prompt will appear as a full-page screen instead of a pop-up and will drop the word “track” from its language. The choice buttons have been simplified to “Allow” or “Reject,” replacing the previous “Allow” and “Ask App Not to Track” options. Developers can also include a clickable link explaining what data they collect and why. Additionally, Apple will permit developers to re-prompt users once a year, a change from the previous policy that did not allow repeated prompts. These updates follow agreements with select European competition authorities.
The changes come after regulators found that Apple’s original ATT prompt design may have restricted user choice and favored Apple’s own advertising business. By allowing a less intrusive prompt and more transparent explanations, the update aims to address concerns about fair competition and user consent practices. The move is part of broader regulatory scrutiny of big tech companies’ data privacy and antitrust practices in the EU, with Apple adjusting its policies to comply with local legal requirements.
The new ATT prompt format will be implemented only in the five specified EU countries due to country-specific legal frameworks. Apple’s agreement with European competition regulators marks a significant step in the ongoing regulatory oversight of app tracking and privacy practices in the region.