GoKawiilIt was reported yesterday that Apple has agreed to comply with “fairer” App Tracking Transparency rules in the EU, following an investigation by the German antitrust regulator.
Apple said it was complying voluntarily, and we understand it will be making a total of eight changes in order to do so …
Developers often collect far more personal data than is required for app functionality. One example is something Apple refers to as app tracking, where interests revealed by the apps you install are used to serve you with personalized ads, both within apps and on the web. App Tracking Transparency (ATT) lets you choose whether or not this data can be collected and used in this way.
Apple said yesterday that the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) acknowledged the value in offering users the choice; indeed, the FCO report said it welcomed ATT from a data protection perspective, as do other privacy regulators within the country.
The FCO’s objection appears to be that Apple’s existing prompt is making app tracking sound scarier than it really is. The iPhone maker will make eight changes in order to address this – including removal of the word “track.”
Changing the color of the graphic element on top of the prompt from orange to blue
Updating the ATT prompt to be a full page
Removing the word “track” from the ATT prompt and Personalized Ads prompt
Changing choice buttons of ATT from “Allow” and “Ask App Not to Track” to “Allow” and “Reject”
Allowing formatting changes (e.g. bold, italics and bulleted lists) in the ATT prompt
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