Privacy Group Files Legal Complaints in Europe Targeting Apple's Device Identifier Service for Advertisers

noyb logoApple's device identifier service for advertisers is being targeted by privacy advocates in two complaints to Spanish and German authorities, reports Bloomberg.

A Vienna-based group called NOYB ("None Of Your Business") has filed complaints with data protection authorities in the two countries, calling for them to outlaw Apple's "Identifier for Advertisers" (IDFA) service.

Each ‌iPhone‌ that Apple sells comes with the unique identifier, which lets advertisers track the actions users take when they use apps. The group argues that the service allows Apple and various apps to track users and collect data on their web use without their consent.

"With our complaints we want to enforce a simple principle: trackers are illegal, unless a user freely consents," NOYB lawyer Stefano Rossetti said in a statement. "Smartphones are the most intimate device for most people and they must be tracker-free by default."

App developers have historically used IDFA to help target users with ads and track the performance of ads across different devices. Next year, however, Apple will require apps to seek customer consent before the IDFA can be used in iOS 14 to track user behavior and preference across apps and websites for ad targeting purposes.

The requirement was announced in June alongside iOS 14 and was originally expected to go into force with the release of Apple's latest mobile operating system, but Apple chose to delay the anti-tracking feature until 2021 to "give developers time to make the necessary changes."

The delay was announced only after major app developers and ad networks like Facebook spoke out against the feature, with Facebook warning advertisers on its platform that it could cause a more than 50 percent drop in Audience Network publisher revenue due to the loss of personalization from ads within apps. Apple is also facing an antitrust complaint from French advertisers who say it could force their revenue to plummet.

Last year, Mozilla launched a petition urging Apple to implement an automatic monthly reset on identifiers to make it harder for companies to build a profile about users over time. "It's like a salesperson following you from store to store while you shop and recording each thing you look at," argued the petition. "Not very private at all."

Tag: Europe
Related Forum: iOS 14

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
ipad pro 2024

Gurman: New iPad Pro and MacBook Pro Models With M5 Chips to Launch Later This Year

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:06 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPad Pro models with the M5 chip will "launch this year," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new iPad Pro models have progressed to an "advanced testing" stage, and he expects mass production of the devices to begin in the second half of this year. If that timeframe is met, the new iPad Pro models could launch...

Top Rated Comments

ruka.snow Avatar
57 months ago
I wish NOYB all the success they need to get these companies out of phones. Mozilla also has a good suggestion there but I worry these 'people' would find a way using other data to link to ID's together. It could be as little as knowing that user has seven of their apps installed and then they've narrowed down when the identifier changes for that user.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Yammabot Avatar
57 months ago
The entire process has to stop. No more tracking under any circumstance. Advertisers should learn how to advertise not track and surveillance. Most ads today are so poor you wouldn’t buy the products just because of the inferior advertising.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reason077 Avatar
57 months ago
Apple's anonymised ID should be the least of their worries. If you don't want it, you can just turn it off in Settings -> Privacy -> Advertising. It needs to be opt in, rather than on by default - but it sounds like this is what Apple already plans to do.

Google and Facebook are an order of magnitude more problematic than anything Apple does. These guys have enough data to build a profile on you without the need for any cross-site advertising IDs. By banning them elsewhere we are just concentrating more and more power (and more advertising dollars) in hands of the largest players.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
57 months ago
We use this A LOT at work (online marketing and app development) and it always makes me roll my eyes when Apple talks about caring about its user privacy while letting devs install and use all those Spyware tools in their apps (ours included).

personalized ads aren’t just annoying, they are also dangerous and shaping individuals personality. For instance, I had to do some research for my mother and now all I am receiving is ads or articles about those topics and I am like I AM NOT INTERESTED. What if I like Spain? That doesn’t mean I am not interested in Norway but those ads will keep showing me Spain so eventually your brain will go like Spain Spain Spain. Also a nice „Tool“ to shape opinions
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
yurc Avatar
57 months ago
I am okay with advertising business, but snooping and tracking someone else device isn't.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Abazigal Avatar
57 months ago
isn’t what the group wants in line with what Apple is trying to implement? Just that Apple has chosen to extend the grace period, but it seems like it will eventually be here? Long before the lawsuit takes effect anyways.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)