German Antitrust Regulator Finds Apple's Tracking Prompt Favored Its Own Apps
Germany's competition authority, the Bundeskartellamt, has concluded that Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) system was not applied evenly. While third-party developers were forced to show users a stark prompt asking permission to track them across apps and websites, Apple's own apps reportedly weren't subjected to the same friction, even though they collect and use comparable data for personalization and ads.
ATT was introduced in 2021 as a privacy feature, letting users block cross-app tracking with one tap. It reshaped mobile advertising, hurting ad-funded companies like Meta while Apple's ad business kept growing. Regulators have long suspected the rules were designed to protect Apple's own advertising interests under the banner of privacy.
This finding adds to an ongoing pattern of EU and German scrutiny of Apple's platform rules, following earlier probes into App Store fees and self-preferencing.