Public Announcement Regarding Push Notifications Sent via Mobile Applications Published
The Personal Data Protection Authority (Authority) published a Public Announcement (Announcement) on 14 January 2026 regarding push notifications sent to users via mobile applications.
Within the scope of the Announcement, it is initially stated that push notifications sent through mobile applications are based on the permissions granted by users via their devices and the personal data processing activities conducted within this scope. In a mobile application examined by the Authority, it was determined that the notification consent presented at the application installation stage was designed as a single consent covering both the purposes of “being informed about campaigns” and “tracking order status in real time.” In other words, it was concluded that mobile application users were forced to accept advertising-related notifications to receive operational notifications.
In the Announcement, which was prepared based on this finding and by taking into account similar complaints regarding mobile applications that have recently been submitted to the Authority, it is specifically emphasized that, for explicit consent to be valid, it must relate to a specific matter, be based on adequate information, and be given freely, and it is stated that conditioning the provision of a service on consent to another data processing activity that is not directly related to that service is incompatible with the element of free will. In this context, attention is drawn to the necessity of allowing users to select different types of notifications separately through application or device settings.
Through the Announcement, the Authority reminds data controllers that notification consent mechanisms should be restructured in line with the principles of granularity and specificity. It is emphasized that data controllers should allow users to customize which types of notifications they wish to receive through in-app settings or the operating system settings of their devices.
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