Apple is under fire after hijacking its own Wallet app to promote Brad Pitt’s upcoming F1: The Movie. On 24 June, U.S. iPhone owners reported an unsolicited push alert that read “Save on 2+ tickets to F1 The Movie with APPLEPAYTEN. Ends 6/29.” Tapping the banner opened a Fandango link promising an Apple Pay discount on opening-weekend tickets.
Critics say Apple ignored its own App Store Review Guidelines, which ban promotional push notifications unless customers actively opt in and can opt out from within the app. Because no such consent screen appeared, and the Wallet app offers no granular toggle on released versions of iOS, many saw the campaign as a double standard that Apple would never tolerate from third-party developers.
A partial remedy is coming, but only for early adopters. The latest iOS 26 beta adds an “Offers & Promotions” switch inside Wallet, allowing users to block similar marketing messages. However, the ad reached devices running the widely-deployed iOS 18, leaving millions with no recourse beyond disabling Wallet alerts entirely—a non-starter for travellers and Apple Pay devotees.
apple sending ads in push notifications pic.twitter.com/UpRUlPJYkT
— kif (@kifleswing) June 24, 2025
The incident resurrected memories of Apple’s past marketing misfires: the 2014 U2 album that appeared in every iTunes library without permission, and 2017’s “Carpool Karaoke” notifications that slipped through News and TV. Both episodes forced Apple into damage control; observers wonder if history will repeat itself with “F1” as the company ramps up its fledgling movie studio.
Apple has invested heavily in the Formula 1 drama, from on-track filming at Grand Prix weekends to a reported $130 million production budget, and clearly hopes to pack cinemas when the film opens on 25 June in Europe and 27 June in North America. Yet the Wallet push may have cost goodwill just as Apple courts regulators over its tight grip on iOS and its built-in apps.
Asked for comment on whether the notification breached its guidelines or if similar ads are planned, Apple had not responded at the time of publication. For now, the controversy underscores a growing tension: can Apple promote its own services without abusing the privileged channels users count on for essential information?