Apple ordered to stop scaring iPhone and iPad users away from third-party apps

Apple’s changing its rules for data collection consent prompts after Germany’s Federal Cartel Office accused Apple of giving the prompts a design that favored its own apps. Apple’s App Tracking Transparency prompts reportedly cost social media apps nearly $10 billion when they launched with iOS 14.5, making cross-app tracking of users largely opt in. But as a designated “gatekeeper” under the EU’s DMA rules, it is facing additional scrutiny over whether the program provides a level playing field.

The regulator says the prompts steer users away from agreeing to let third-party apps use their data, while encouraging them to give consent for Apple’s apps.

In its preliminary assessment, the Bundeskartellamt considered that the current design of the [App Tracking Transparency] prompt steers users towards refusing consent, whereas the design of the [Personalized Ads] prompt steers them towards giving their consent to the use of their data for advertising purposes. Factors that contribute to this steering effect include the symbols used (for example, a warning hand symbol), different wordings (“app tracking” versus “personalised advertising”), partially ambiguous descriptions of how the data will be used, differences in the space available to explain the advantages of allowing data use, and the order in which the selection options are displayed.

Apple now has four months to update the design and language of the consent pop-ups. The proposed changes would remove discouraging language and symbols from third-party app pop-ups, like a warning hand icon, and give them a more neutral design similar to the pop-ups for Apple’s apps. Third-party app developers would also be able to combine or link Apple’s required pop-ups with other data collection consent prompts.

According to Reuters, the changes “would apply in almost all European Union countries.”