Apple is set to change the way third-party apps request users’ permission to use personal data for personalised advertising following concerns raised by Germany’s competition regulator.
The German Federal Cartel Office, known as the Bundeskartellamt, announced on Monday, that Apple has agreed to a series of binding commitments designed to address concerns over its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) Framework.
The commitments bring the regulator’s competition proceedings against the technology company to an end.
Under Apple’s current system, third-party app developers are required to obtain additional user consent through an Apple-designed prompt before carrying out certain forms of data use across companies.
The German regulator raised concerns that similar requirements did not apply in the same way to Apple’s own services and products.
Bundeskartellamt President Andreas Mundt said Apple was entitled to maintain strong privacy protections for its users, but argued that the company could not impose rules within its ecosystem in a way that placed competing services at a disadvantage.
“It is key that personal data and privacy are protected effectively when using apps,” Mundt said.
He added that Apple would now bring consent requests for its own services and third-party applications more closely into line while giving developers greater flexibility in presenting the required permissions.
Under the agreement, Apple will make the consent prompts used by its own services and those presented by third-party apps more similar.
The company will also remove certain symbols and wording from its standard consent prompts that the regulator considered potentially discouraging to users.
App developers will additionally have more freedom to combine Apple’s consent request with other permission requests required under data-protection regulations.
They will also be able to link the requests together in a manner that makes the information clearer to users.
Mundt stressed that the objective of the changes was not to increase the number of people agreeing to personalised advertising.
“It is expressly not our aim to help achieve the highest possible levels of consent to personalised advertising,” he said.
Instead, he said users should be able to make a genuinely free and informed choice, whether they decide to permit the use of their data for personalised advertising or reject it.
The Bundeskartellamt said its investigation was conducted under competition law rather than data-protection law.
The proceedings began in June 2022 after the regulator determined that Apple held a position of paramount significance across markets, giving it a particularly strong position under Germany’s competition rules.
That assessment was subsequently confirmed by Germany’s Federal Court of Justice in March 2025.
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Apple has four months from receiving the regulator’s decision to implement the agreed changes.
The commitments will remain in force for seven years and their implementation will be supervised by an independent trustee.
The German regulator also noted that competition authorities in France and Italy had previously taken action against Apple over its App Tracking Transparency Framework, resulting in fines of €150 million and €98.6 million respectively.
The latest agreement highlights the growing scrutiny facing major technology companies over how their control of digital platforms and privacy systems can affect competition and the choices available to users and rival app developers.
