June 25, 2025, 2:14 pm | Read time: 2 minutes
Apple has sent iPhone users a Wallet notification advertising its new production, “F1 The Movie,” starring Brad Pitt. This move violates the company’s own guidelines for app developers. Users are annoyed by the action and are reminded of previous Apple missteps.
Since the beginning of the week, iPhone users have been receiving a push notification from Apple Pay via the Wallet app. It promotes a discount offer for the movie “F1,” which hits theaters in the U.S. on June 27. So far, only certain users have the option to disable such promotional notifications.
Apple Advertising for Movie Tickets
Social media is flooded with posts featuring images of the Wallet notification. The exact wording: “10 USD off at Fandango. Save on 2+ tickets for F1 The Movie with APPLEPAYTEN. Ends on 6/29. While supplies last. Terms apply.” The offer is from ticket seller Fandango. To qualify for the discount, payment must be made with Apple Pay and the code “APPLEPAYTEN” must be entered.
Users are reacting to this aggressive ad campaign with harsh criticism. In a Reddit post, one user writes, “I didn’t pay over $1,000 for an iPhone to get ads.” This isn’t the first time Apple has sent a notification with advertising content. A few years ago, the company promoted the late-night segment “Carpool Karaoke” in a similar manner, as reported by “The Verge.” At least that was an Apple production–and not an offer from a third party.
Read more: How Apple Plans to Deliver Ads on the iPhone in the Future
The campaign brings back memories of Apple’s controversial U2 campaign in 2014. Back then, an album by the band suddenly appeared unsolicited for 500 million iTunes users. After massive criticism, the company later provided a tool to remove the album.
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As a user clarifies in a comment on the “9To5Mac” report, Apple is violating its own App Store guidelines with the Wallet notification. According to the design guidelines for developers, section 4.5.4, “Push notifications must not be used for advertising or direct marketing purposes unless customers have explicitly opted in to receive them.” Users must also have the option to revoke permission.
Currently, the display of push notifications for advertising purposes in the Wallet app is automatically active. Users cannot turn them off. The only exception is for testers of the beta version of iOS 26.
The Wallet app in iOS 26 has a new three-dot menu where notification settings can be found. There, the “Offers & Promotions” option can be disabled to avoid annoying promotional notifications in the future.