How will Apple’s latest IOS update affect your ability to use ad re-targeting?

Intelligent Tracking Prevention

The new feature introduced by Apple aims at reducing cross-site tracking by further limiting third-party cookies and other website data. Machine learning is used to identify trackers, segregate cross-site scripting data and stop users from being tracked by third parties and therefore preventing many retargeting ads.

Sam Vining, iCrossing, head of data and analytics, explains how the technology works: “The 24-hour exemption period from cookie partitioning is designed to enable scenarios where users may use their log-in information from one domain on another website or service.

After 30 days (without a subsequent interaction) the cookies will be purged completely from the user’s device. What this means is the cookies advertisers rely on for measurement will be unavailable after 30 days, and cookies for targeting and retargeting in media will be unavailable after 24 hours.”

Personalisation is at risk

We talk a lot about personalisation, and how critical it is for user experience in the media industry. So, with a change in standards for cookies how will digital companies innovate to build content, services and ads that are personalised for users and remember their visits? In the US alone safari accounts for over 50% of the mobile web browsing market, according to Statista.

Apple’s response

However, Apple has never been known for being considerate of other players and argue that “people have the right to privacy”. In a statement released they state “Ad tracking has become so pervasive that it is possible for ad tracking companies to re-create the majority of a person’s web browsing history. This information is collected without permission and is used for ad re-targeting, which is how ads follow people around the internet.”

In terms of Intelligent Tracking Prevention, Apple states “it does not block ads or interfere with legitimate tracking on the sites that people actually click on and visit. Cookies for sites that you interact with function as designed, and ads placed by web publishers, will appear normally.”

My Ad Retargeting

When considering ad retargeting, remember to consider this:

0 – 1 Day

When a user visits a website deemed as a first-party domain, (top domain) Intelligent Tracking Prevention sees this as a signal that the user is interested in the website. For the first 24 hours, the cookies can be used in a 3rd-party context.

1 – 30 Days

Cookies can’t be used in a 3rd-party context. If the user hasn’t interacted with the website in the last 24 hours, the cookies will be kept but they’ll be partitioned. This allows the users to stay logged in even if they only visit occasionally, but blocks cookies being used for cross-site tracking.