Safari Tracking Cuts Publisher Ads by 11.7% and Revenues by 11.4%
An analysis by Aditude estimated that Safari's tracking block reduced served ads by 11.7% and publisher revenues by 11.4%, with effective revenue per thousand impressions (eCPM) dropping 10.5%.
Publishers' losses from Apple's decision to block tracking in the Safari browser have begun to show in figures, according to Digiday. Ad tech company Aditude reported that the decision affected 11.7% of served ads and 11.4% of publishers' ad revenues.
Safari's system severed code snippets that allowed ad tech companies to recognize the same reader across different websites. Following this move, it became difficult to link the same user's visits across multiple sites, reducing ad targeting accuracy.
The eCPM metric, which represents effective revenue per thousand ad impressions, dropped by 10.5% among readers who updated their browser. Andrew Casale, CEO of Index Exchange, described the move as an "intrusive overreach".
These results reopen the debate between protecting user privacy and sustaining the funding of free content. Publishers rely on personalized ads to cover news production costs, and any drop in targeting accuracy directly impacts their revenues.
What Do These Terms Mean?
Cross-site tracking: A technology that collects user visit data across different websites to build a profile of their interests, which is later used for ad targeting.
eCPM: The revenue a publisher generates per thousand ad impressions, used as a measure of ad revenue efficiency.
Ad Tech: The companies and systems that manage the buying, selling, and serving of online ad space.
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