App Tracking Transparency (ATT) is Apple’s privacy program designed to give iPhone users more control over their personal data. The company has been accused of treating its own apps more favorably than third-party apps. After an investigation by German regulators, Apple agreed to apply ATT rules throughout the EU.
There is no doubt that ATT was launched with good intentions and as a necessary countermeasure against some developers who collect and use large amounts of personal data without true informed consent. However, Apple has been accused of applying these rules to third-party developers by failing to display a similar request in its own iPhone apps. The company defends itself by saying it doesn’t do the kind of tracking that AT&T is supposed to monitor, but Apple’s continued expansion of its ad sales casts doubt on that.
Earlier this year, German publishers complained to the country’s antitrust regulator about Apple’s unfair practices, after which the company was forced to revise its ATT policy. By convention, the consent popup displayed to third-party developers should become “Visually and linguistically neutral”without offensive language and symbols, which the regulator believes prompted users to reject it.
Developers can also combine Apple’s mandatory tracking requests with their own data protection requests, rather than leaving users facing two separate hurdles that Apple’s own apps can easily bypass.
Apple has four months to comply with the regulator’s request, and its compliance will be monitored for seven years.
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