Noyb files Spanish and German privacy complaints against Apple tracking code

Privacy rights group Noyb has followed a series of actions launched against Facebook, Google and others by filing new complaints with Spanish and German data protection authorities over Apple's ‘IDFA’ tracking tool. The group led by privacy activist Max Schrems claimed that the tracking code enables Apple and all apps on iPhones to store users’ data without their consent in what amounts to a clear infringement of EU privacy law.

In a statement, Noyb said the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) code is automatically generated on every iPhone, allowing Apple and third parties to track a user and combine information about online and mobile behaviour (“cross device tracking”). “While Apple introduced functions in their browser to block cookies, it places similar codes in its phones, without any consent by the user,” said Noyb lawyer Stefano Rossetti, describing the company’s actions as “a clear breach of EU privacy laws."

The privacy rights group added that although Apple recently announced plans for future changes to the IDFA system, the changes appear to restrict the use of the IDFA for third parties but not for Apple itself. “The IDFA should not only be restricted, but permanently deleted. Smartphones are the most intimate device for most people and they must be tracker-free by default,” said Rossetti.

Noyb said the complaints are based on the e-Privacy Directive and not the GDPR, meaning that the Spanish and German authorities can directly fine Apple without the need for cooperation among EU Data Protection Authorities as under GDPR.