Research · October 31, 2026 · 3 min read

France fines Fnac Darty €7 million for tracking app users who said no

France’s privacy regulator says the Fnac shopping app shared what people browsed with a third party for recommendations, even when they had declined. What it means.

BBrody · Frame

A phone outline on black showing a faint grid of product tiles, a small consent switch set to off, and a dotted steel line still leaving the phone toward a box at the right.

France’s data protection regulator, the CNIL, has fined two Fnac Darty companies a combined €7 million over the Fnac shopping app. It found the app sent a record of what people were browsing to a third party for product recommendations without their consent, including from people who had said no. Here’s what the regulator found and what you can check in the apps on your own phone.

What happened

The CNIL published its decision on October 29, 2026. Its sanctions committee fined FNAC DARTY PARTICIPATIONS ET SERVICES €6 million and FNAC DIRECT €1 million on October 22 for breaking France’s rules on cookies and other trackers.

The case began with a complaint from the privacy group noyb, which filed complaints in 2023 against three French apps, and the CNIL inspected the Fnac app in March 2024. According to the CNIL, while people used the app, it sent requests to a third-party domain that carried an identifier Fnac had assigned to the user along with their activity, such as the products they viewed. That was used to show personalized products and to train Fnac’s recommendation algorithm.

The CNIL says this kind of tracking isn’t strictly necessary to run the app, so it needs the user’s consent first. In setting the amount, it pointed to the companies having failed to respect users’ choice not to consent, and to the large number of people using the app.

Fnac Darty has one month from being notified to show that its new consent tool works. Otherwise it faces a penalty of €10,000 for each day of delay. noyb notes that Fnac Darty also operates in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium and Switzerland.

What this means for you

Cookie banners get the attention, but apps track too, and a “reject” button only helps if the app respects it. This decision says that in France, recommendations built from your browsing need your agreement first, and that ignoring a “no” is treated seriously.

What you can do

Review the consent choices in your shopping apps. Many apps put them under settings, often called privacy, cookies or personalization. If an app gives you no way to change your choice later, that tells you something too.
Limit app tracking on your phone. On iPhone, go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Tracking, and turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track. On Android, you can delete your advertising ID under Settings, then Privacy, then Ads, though the exact path varies by phone.
Use the browser instead of the app where you can. A website in a private browsing window usually knows less about you than an app that stays signed in.
Complain if your choice is ignored. In the EU, you can file a complaint with your country’s data protection authority. In Canada, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner or your provincial commissioner.

How Frame helps

Frame guides you through opting out of the data brokers and people-search sites that collect and resell personal information, one request at a time, and tracks each one so you can check it stuck. Frame never sells, rents or trades your personal information.

Sources

CNIL, Cookies and mobile application: 7 million euros fine against FNAC DARTY PARTICIPATIONS ET SERVICES and FNAC DIRECT, October 29, 2026
noyb, noyb win: French electronics retailer Fnac Darty fined €7 million, October 29, 2026

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What happened

What you can do

Review the consent choices in your shopping apps. Many apps put them under settings, often called privacy, cookies or personalization. If an app gives you no way to change your choice later, that tells you something too.

Limit app tracking on your phone. On iPhone, go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Tracking, and turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track. On Android, you can delete your advertising ID under Settings, then Privacy, then Ads, though the exact path varies by phone.

Use the browser instead of the app where you can. A website in a private browsing window usually knows less about you than an app that stays signed in.

Complain if your choice is ignored. In the EU, you can file a complaint with your country’s data protection authority. In Canada, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner or your provincial commissioner.