Polish regulator: Apple to change tracking and ads consent prompts on iPhones in Poland

Poland's Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) announced on 20 October 2026 that Apple will change how it asks users for consent to use their data. The changes follow a commitment decision by the UOKiK President concerning Apple, Apple Distribution International and Apple Operations International.

What the dispute was about

The case concerns the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy, which Apple introduced in April 2021 in iOS and iPadOS. Third-party apps had to ask users for consent to "tracking", meaning the combining of data from different companies' apps to show personalised ads. In its own apps, Apple instead asked for consent to "personalised ads", in a different format and with different buttons.

According to UOKiK, this could discourage users from sharing data with independent developers and favour Apple, which uses its own data for advertising. The office said Apple may hold a dominant position, the abuse of which is prohibited by competition law. The UOKiK President also said the decision is the result of several months of cooperation with the European Commission.

What changes Apple is announcing

The prompts are to be neutral in appearance, layout and wording. According to a list provided by Apple and reported by Antyweb, the changes include:

• changing the colour of the graphic at the top of the prompt from orange to blue,
• making the ATT prompt full-screen,
• removing the word "tracking" from ATT prompts and those about personalised ads,
• new buttons in the ATT prompt: "Allow" and "Don't allow",
• allowing developers to format text (bold, italics, bullet lists),
• an option to show, from within the prompt, an additional page with the information required by the GDPR,
• letting developers show the prompt again one year after the user's decision,
• minor changes to the wording of the personalised ads prompt, without changing its meaning or effect.

Developers will also get an independent Liaison Officer, who will accept comments and complaints in Polish or English. These will go to an independent Monitoring Trustee, who will consider them.

Apple said the changes will let it keep offering this privacy tool in Poland, leaving control over data in the hands of users.

What this means for Poles in the UK

The new rules are to be visible to people whose Apple account has a billing address in Poland and for whom Poland is the registered device location. Users with an account and device linked to the UK are not covered by the decision, so should not expect changes on their phones. People who use a Polish account may see the new look of the prompts.

The sources do not give an exact date for the changes to take effect.