Apple’s ATT Tracking Prompt Could Vanish in Europe: Is This the End?

The App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature, known in France as “Allow app tracking requests,” may soon vanish in Europe.

Apple shared this development with the German news agency DPA. Specifically, Apple stated:

Significant lobbying efforts in Germany, Italy, and other European countries might force us to remove this feature, which would be to the detriment of European consumers.

Apple has not provided much more detail at this time, but they emphasized their determination:

We will persist in urging the relevant authorities in Germany, Italy, and across Europe to allow Apple to continue providing this crucial privacy protection tool to our users.

This situation is somewhat ironic. As Europe aims to enhance citizen protection, this feature — which requires apps to explicitly ask for consent to track users for advertising — was a step in the right direction.

Apple’s Imperfections

However, Apple is far from flawless. When ATT was launched in 2021, the company “forgot” to apply the same rules to its own apps. This oversight has been noted by the German Federal Competition Office, which points out that Apple’s rules do not prevent the company from merging data from the App Store, Apple ID, or connected devices for advertising purposes. In France, Apple was fined 150 million euros for abusing its dominant market position in a similar case — a decision that the company has appealed.

One thing is clear: this feature has angered many advertising agencies, both European and American, who have seen significant financial losses. Meta, in particular, has been actively opposing this measure and has found ways on multiple occasions to technologically bypass Apple’s system.

Apple’s statements likely serve as a prelude to a potential withdrawal of ATT. It could happen as soon as iOS 26.1, who knows…