Apple Blocks Identity Companies In Safari Browser
Apple has blocked companies that track users across websites in its Safari browser, citing concerns over email address-based tracking. The move affects companies like LiveRamp and The Trade Desk.
Original reporting · digiday.com
Original: “Apple finally explains its Safari block, and identity companies are in its sights”
Read “Apple finally explains its Safari block, and identity companies are in its sights” at Digiday →
How this was written. Adtomix wrote this article with a language model from Digiday’s reporting (model: @cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast); it describes that reporting rather than adding to it. The original, linked above, is the full story.
Key points from Digiday’s report
- Apple has blocked companies that track users across websites in its Safari browser, citing concerns over email address-based tracking.
- The block affects companies like LiveRamp and The Trade Desk, which use email addresses to create identifiers for advertisers.
- Apple plans to continue preventing covert and cross-site tracking by default, but has not explained how it determines which companies to block or how they can get off the list.
- The move has raised questions about what it means for publishers, who often rely on outside firms to match their data with advertisers.
- Apple's own ads business is expanding, with the company hiring for 86 roles tagged Apple Ads.
Apple has finally explained its reasoning behind blocking companies that track users across websites in its Safari browser. According to a blog post by the company's engineers, the block is intended to prevent companies from using email addresses to track users without their consent.
The block affects several companies, including LiveRamp, ID5, and The Trade Desk's UID 2.0, which use email addresses to create identifiers that allow advertisers to recognize users across different sites. Apple's blog post confirms that the block reaches beyond iPhones and iPads to Macs and its Vision Pro headset.
Apple's reasoning is that email addresses have become a replacement for cookies as a means of tracking users, and that this type of tracking is more persistent and harder to shake than cookie-based tracking. The company argues that users do not expect their email addresses to be used for tracking when they sign up for a newsletter or log in to a website.
The block has already caught a handful of companies, including Permutive and Audigent, and Apple's blog post makes it clear that the company plans to continue preventing covert and cross-site tracking by default. However, the company has not explained how it determines which companies to block or how they can get off the list.
The move has raised questions about what it means for publishers, who often rely on outside firms to match their data with advertisers. Apple has said that businesses personalizing content for their own customers are not considered to be tracking, but the line between this and outside firms is not clear.
The block has also sparked speculation about Apple's motives, with some in the ad industry suspecting that the company has an ulterior motive. Apple's track record of introducing features that disrupt the ad industry, such as Intelligent Tracking Protection and App Track Transparency, has led some to question whether the company is trying to protect user privacy or gain an advantage in the ad market.
Apple's own ads business is also expanding, with the company hiring for 86 roles tagged Apple Ads, including a director of algorithms for ads engineering and a product manager for AI and machine learning in the Apple Ads marketplace. The company has declined to comment on its hiring plans, but ad execs are watching closely to see what the company's plans turn out to be. This article is based on reporting by Digiday.
Questions and answers
Why did Apple block companies that track users in Safari?
Apple blocked these companies because it believes that email address-based tracking is a violation of user privacy, and that users do not expect their email addresses to be used for tracking when they sign up for a newsletter or log in to a website.
Which companies are affected by the block?
The block affects companies like LiveRamp, ID5, and The Trade Desk's UID 2.0, which use email addresses to create identifiers for advertisers.
What does the block mean for publishers?
The block has raised questions about what it means for publishers, who often rely on outside firms to match their data with advertisers. Apple has said that businesses personalizing content for their own customers are not considered to be tracking, but the line between this and outside firms is not clear.
