UOKiK: Apple to change tracking and advertising prompts on iPhones in Poland

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) announced on 20 October 2026 that Apple will change the way it displays requests for consent to the use of users' data. The changes result from a commitments decision by the President of UOKiK concerning Apple, Apple Distribution International and Apple Operations International.

What the dispute was about

The dispute concerned 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", that is, combining data from the apps of different companies in order to show personalised ads. In its own apps, however, Apple asked for consent to "personalised ads", in a different form and with different buttons.

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

What changes Apple has announced

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

• changing the colour of the graphic element at the top of the prompt from orange to blue,
• a full-screen format for the ATT prompt,
• removing the word "tracking" from ATT prompts and those relating to personalised ads,
• new buttons in the ATT prompt: "Allow" and "Decline",
• the ability for developers to format text (bold, italics, lists),
• an option to display, from within the prompt, an additional page with information required by the GDPR,
• the ability to display 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.

App developers will also gain an independent Liaison Officer, who will receive comments and complaints in Polish or English. These will go to an independent Monitoring Trustee, who will consider them.

Apple said that, thanks to the changes, it will continue to offer a privacy protection tool in Poland, and control over data will remain in the hands of users.

What this means for you 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 location of the device. Users whose account and device are linked to the United Kingdom are not covered by this decision, so they should not expect any 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 introduction of the changes.