Apple will change rules governing how app developers can use personal data for targeted advertising on iPhones and iPads, Germany’s competition authority said on Monday, closing a years-long investigation.

The Federal Cartel Office, or FCO, found that Apple’s App Tracking Transparency framework ⁠gave ​its own apps more favourable consent prompts than those of third-party developers, potentially breaching competition rules.

Apple has four months to implement the changes after ​the decision ​is served. Commitments run for ⁠seven years and will be monitored by a trustee.

Under the commitments, consent ‌pop-ups for third-party apps must be redesigned to remove discouraging language and symbols, and made visually and linguistically neutral.

“While we believe the current ATT prompt provides a clear, easy-to-understand and effective way to keep users in control of their ⁠data – an opinion ⁠shared by the German data protection authorities – we have agreed to make changes ⁠to ‌the text and formatting of the ​prompt at the FCO’s request,” ‌Apple said, adding that with these commitments, it can continue to provide the tool in ‌Europe. The changes ​will apply ​in ​almost all European Union countries.

Developers of third-party apps, including Facebook parent Meta Platforms, ​aim for accurate user data ⁠so that targeted adverts can be displayed on devices. These generate more revenue than broader campaigns.

France and ‌Italy ⁠have already fined Apple €150 million and €98.6 million, respectively, over the ATT framework.