What Apple has said
- What: an alternative version of the App Tracking Transparency system prompt, the dialog that asks people whether an app may track them.
- When: beginning with iOS 27.2 and iPadOS 27.2.
- Where: apps distributed in the EU have the option to use it. In Germany, France, Italy, Poland and Romania, Apple says that because of legal requirements, only the alternative version is available.
- Why: Apple says the change is part of agreements with select European competition authorities.
- What does not change: the requirements for when you must ask permission to track.
What is not known yet
The announcement does not show the alternative prompt, describe its wording, or say how an app opts in to it. Until Apple’s documentation for iOS 27.2 says more, treat any description of how it looks as a guess.
Who this affects
Only apps that ask for tracking permission, typically because they show personalised ads or measure ad campaigns across other companies’ apps and websites. If your app never shows the tracking prompt, nothing changes for you.
What to prepare
- Check which EU storefronts your app is sold in, and whether that includes the five countries.
- Make sure the app works fully when tracking is declined. Under the existing rules, it has to anyway.
- Keep the tracking prompt apart from other permission requests, as we do in JobShot, so that saying no to tracking never blocks the main feature.
- If you measure campaigns, be ready for opt-in rates in those countries to move, and compare them by country before and after iOS 27.2.
- Read Apple’s User Privacy and Data Use page again once iOS 27.2 is released.
Source: Apple’s Updates to App Tracking Transparency in the European Union, 16 September 2026.
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