Apple blocks ad-tracking companies in Safari... and publishers pay the price
Apple begins blocking companies that track browsing for ad targeting in Safari without notice, as publishers record declining revenues amidst falling bids on Safari traffic.
Apple has begun blocking companies that track user browsing to target them with ads inside the "Safari" browser without prior notice, with the block initially targeting major ad tech companies. Apple has not published a list of the blocked names, leaving advertisers and publishers to guess who was impacted by the action.
Rowena Lam from "IAB Tech Lab" said that the organization observed significant interest from publishers reaching out to inquire about a "Trusted Server"—a model that moves ad processing to servers controlled by the publisher itself rather than third-party servers. She added that the first publisher preparing to move to this model is close to launch.
On the financial front, publishers have started recording a decline in revenue, as bids on incoming traffic from "Safari" dropped following the block, reducing the price of available ad space inside the browser. This comes at a time when many news websites rely on this source as part of their primary income.
The block represents a change in the infrastructure through which ads themselves pass, rather than a user tracking consent requirement, meaning publishers cannot offset it by modifying consent models. This development concerns websites and agencies in the Arab region buying or selling space on the open web, as it narrows the ad delivery channel on Apple devices and renders campaign measurement more complex.
What do these terms mean?
IAB Tech Lab: A non-profit technology organization that sets standards for the digital advertising industry, issuing guides and rules that publishers and advertisers follow.
Trusted Server: A model that runs ad processing on servers controlled by the publisher instead of third-party servers, granting greater data control and reducing reliance on third parties.
Bid: The price offered by an advertiser or broker to purchase an opportunity to show an ad to a user, upon which publisher revenue is built.
Traffic: The number of visits a site receives during a period, usually measured by user sessions or page views.
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