Apple's Personalized Ads System Targeted in Privacy Complaint to French Data Regulator

Apple's advertising system for monetizing its apps and services is the target of a new complaint in France that has been brought against it by a lobby group representing startups and venture capital firms (via Bloomberg).

apple personalized ads%403x
Submitted on Tuesday by France Digitale to the country's National Data Protection Commission (CNIL), the complaint focuses on an Apple feature called Personalized Advertising, which shows ads in the App Store, Apple News, and the Stocks app, based on a user's data.

The group said it had acted because Apple's system doesn't ask for the user's permission to receive the targeted ads, which are enabled by default. Users are "insufficiently informed about the use and the processing of its personal data," the association wrote in the complaint, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg.

"Apple keeps the right to choose who is a 'partner' and who is a 'third party' in an arbitrary manner, a quality which may change over time, without the user being informed of such a change," France Digitale wrote, claiming the company is seeking to use data it collects and uses.

The complaint comes ahead of Apple's planned rollout of a new App Tracking Transparency feature, which will limit how much data that third-party advertising systems can gather about users. Following the release of iOS 14.5, all apps that access an iPhone's ad identifier or IDFA will need to ask a user's permission before tracking is allowed.

The upcoming feature has drawn criticism from Facebook and other advertisers who are concerned that many users will not consent to being tracked across apps for ad personalization purposes. However, App Tracking Transparency is different from Apple's own personalized advertising system, which doesn't track users across apps and doesn't identify users to target its ads. Instead, it relies on the anonymous grouping of users' shared characteristics such as apps downloaded, age, country or city of residence, and gender.

However, that hasn't stopped France Digitale from claiming that it still gives Apple an advantage over third-parties when it comes to ‌iPhone‌ app-based advertising. Apple responded to the complaint in a statement given to Bloomberg:

"The allegations in the complaint are patently false and will be seen for what they are, a poor attempt by those who track users to distract from their own actions and mislead regulators and policymakers. Transparency and control for the user are fundamental pillars of our privacy philosophy, which is why we've made App Tracking Transparency equally applicable to all developers including Apple. Privacy is built into the ads we sell on our platform with no tracking."

French Digitale's legal action follows another complaint against Apple that was filed with France's competition authority by advertising companies and publishers in October 2020.

That complaint argued that the enhanced privacy measures brought about by Apple's Apple Tracking Transparency would be anticompetitive. A ruling by the French watchdog is expected soon, and depending on the outcome, Apple could be forced to leave out its enhanced privacy feature in iOS 14.5 for users in the country.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Announces 13 Automakers Planning to Offer iPhone Car Keys

Friday June 27, 2025 11:42 am PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote, Apple said that 13...
anker power bank recall

PSA: Anker Recalls Multiple Power Banks Due to Fire Risk

Friday June 27, 2025 4:16 pm PDT by
Popular accessory maker Anker this month launched two separate recalls for its power banks, some of which may be a fire risk. The first recall affects Anker PowerCore 10000 Power Banks sold between June 1, 2016 and December 31, 2022 in the United States. Anker says that these power banks have a "potential issue" with the battery inside, which can lead to overheating, melting of plastic...
Chase Sapphire Reserve Apple Perk Feature

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Introduces New Perk for Apple Customers

Wednesday June 25, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Chase this week announced a series of new perks for its premium Sapphire Reserve credit card, and one of them is for a pair of Apple services. Specifically, the credit card now offers complimentary annual subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music, a value of up to $250 per year. If you are already paying for Apple TV+ and/or Apple Music directly through Apple, those subscriptions will...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in a Few Months With These 12 New Features

Thursday June 26, 2025 2:00 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Here's Which Vehicle Brands Will and Won't Offer Apple's CarPlay Ultra

Friday June 27, 2025 9:52 am PDT by
Apple last month announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. There was news this week about which automakers will and won't offer CarPlay Ultra, and we have provided an updated list below. CarPlay Ultra is currently limited to newer Aston Martin vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. Fortunately, if you cannot...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Tuesday June 24, 2025 3:40 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...

Top Rated Comments

Mascots Avatar
56 months ago

That would likely require Apple making its own Targeted Advertising opt-in, which might go against Apple's interests. After all, the likely reason Targeted Advertising is not currently opt-in and it's enabled by default is that most users would otherwise not enable it when explicitly prompted about it.
In my opinion, this kind of general demographic targeting is more acceptable (and different) than the aggressive tracking based targeting that Facebook and some other advertisers put in place.

I don’t mind a platform serving me advertisements which are more relevant to me based the information that I offer them, but it’s when they cross that line and build intricate and specific profiles with info and habits beyond what I’d reasonably offer or take that information to sell to others that is rather detestable. For example, I’d like to be presented with apps that might interest me based on my purchases, but really don’t enjoy repeatedly seeing the exact product whose webpage I opened (once and accidentally) for weeks at a time or very specific political advertisements which are targeted based on my race, demographic, and age all at once.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bsolar Avatar
56 months ago

In my opinion, this kind of general demographic targeting is more acceptable (and different) than the aggressive tracking based targeting that Facebook and some other advertisers put in place.
That's for sure, but I don't think there is such an option for third-parties: they are opt-in no matter the kind of targeting they do.

From the point of view of Apple it makes sense since they cannot verify that the tracking is ultimately "anonymized" by the third-party, but note that from the point of view of an end-user that's also true for Apple: they cannot verify that Apple's tracking is ultimately really "anonymized" in demographic targeting as they claim.

It's ultimately a matter of trust and while I agree Apple is far more trustworthy than Facebook, I'd still rather have their targeting being opt-in too.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
az431 Avatar
56 months ago

Why would I or anyone care what information some third-person stranger collects for marketing purposes as long as the information collected doesn't include one's personal identity? Possession of a database of the habits of tens or hundreds of millions of anonymous individuals by a corporate group of people …? doesn't bother me.
I don't know why you don't care, but if you don't care then feel free to accept it. But it is not for you to decide for other people the boundaries of what is private or not private.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bsolar Avatar
56 months ago

Why would they stop the implementation in France? As I understood, it’s actually not strict enough to them? If anything it needs to be improved not disabled
That would likely require Apple making its own Targeted Advertising opt-in, which might go against Apple's interests. After all, the likely reason Targeted Advertising is not currently opt-in and it's enabled by default is that most users would otherwise not enable it when explicitly prompted about it.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
56 months ago
Why would they stop the implementation in France? As I understood, it’s actually not strict enough to them? If anything it needs to be improved not disabled
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
5232152 Avatar
56 months ago
Thinking how you get to choose exactly who you give your cookies to these days I think this is fair. The fact Apple could partner with anyone and you have to suck it up isn't great for the consumer.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)