Germany is reportedly evaluating Apple 's proposed changes to its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) following concerns about antitrust violations . Apple plans to modify the wording and formatting of the ATT consent notice, while aiming to preserve the feature's core privacy benefits .
Apple will add neutral consent notices for its own services and third-party apps, aligning the wording, content, and visual design of the messages. The company also plans to simplify the consent process to make it easier for developers to obtain user permission to process data related to ads.
See also: Apple Music Replay 2025 is here!
Germany is seeking feedback from publishers, media groups and regulators to determine whether Apple's changes can address complaints about the limited amount of user data available to app publishers.
What about Apple's App Tracking Transparency in Europe?
Earlier this year, Apple said it may need to remove ATT from the EU. “Intense lobbying efforts in Germany, Italy and other European countries may force us to withdraw this feature to the detriment of European consumers,” the company said.
See also: Apple resists India's order to pre-install government app on iPhones
Germany first launched an investigation into App Tracking Transparency in 2022, following complaints from advertisers. In February 2025, Germany’s Federal Competition Office preliminarily ruled that Apple abused its buying power by giving itself preferential treatment. According to German regulators, Apple’s restrictions made it “much more difficult” for developers to gain access to user data that is important for advertising.
How does App Tracking Transparency work?
App Tracking Transparency was introduced in 2021 and users iPhone to decide whether to allow apps to track their activity across other apps and websites for advertising purposes. Users can choose to allow apps to ask for permission or disable tracking entirely.
See also: New or renovated Apple Stores to open in Barcelona, Montreal and India
The ATT prevents apps from accessing the advertising identifier of Apple devices without the consumer’s explicit permission, so that apps can’t track what users do and use that data for targeted advertising. The ATT is unpopular with advertisers and data brokers, but Apple has pledged to work to convince Germany and other EU countries to allow the ATT to continue to be offered to consumers.
