Apple is tweaking its Safari browser (again) in a move bound to cause fresh headaches for marketers. The change is being made to its Intelligent Tracking Prevention feature, and it will no doubt frustrate advertisers. But it might also move them along to where privacy and digital advertising are heading, due in large part to increasing regulation and the fragmented digital landscape.
The anti-tracking feature (“ITP”) prevents the tracking of cookies in the open web. The first iteration launched in 2017, but was quickly circumvented by companies such as Google, Facebook and Criteo. That prompted a significant overhaul to ITP last June, one that even tech titans struggled to work around.
Now, Apple is further locking things down with Safari by capping persistent client-side cookies executed through link decoration to one day, down from seven. Generally speaking, link decorations allow companies to track people’s browsing habits by adding code or additional characters to a URL.
For example: If a consumer clicks a Facebook link with link decoration and lands on Nike’s website, the company that created that link could glean where the user went, what they saw and more, then use this to serve targeted ads. If that person shares the link, then the company could connect both people and further build their profiles. This information now expires in one day, with some stipulations from Apple.
Bryan Simkins, senior VP of Americas for the Technology and Activation Group at Publicis Media, suggests companies that provide agencies with consumer segments based on data (so-called audience providers) will face more restrictions in dealing rich user profiles to brands. Analytics may also face hurdles in tracking inbound traffic.
“If the site is classified as a cross-domain tracker and sends traffic to a site with a link decoration, the cookie being set on the destination site will now expire in one day,” says Simkins. “This will only happen if the referring site meets [Apple’s] criteria.”
But that criteria is vague. Apple says two conditions must be met: A domain classified with cross-site tracking capabilities must be responsible for navigating the user to the current web page, and the URL must have link decoration.
“Given there’s no central list of domains classified for cross-site tracking capabilities, site owners will need to assess their links and evaluate any third-party JavaScript libraries that may use link decoration,” says Sujal Patel, global chief technology officer at iCrossing. “If they are, they’ll need to determine how this impacts their reporting, and what possible workarounds they might have to alleviate any issues that arise.”
Still, much of the digital ad world is moving away from cookies and relying on their first-party data. To many, Apple’s recent move with ITP—Apple will deploy it to all users in its next software update—only expedites that process. “I applaud Apple’s concerns and efforts with protecting the privacy of Safari users,” Patel says. “I believe their long-term vision is moving in the right direction.”
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