Is it me or are Apple’s ITP (Intelligent Tracking Prevention) updates being released at the same rate as the latest iPhone? Earlier this Spring Apple released ITP 2.2 which capped first-party cookies from 7 days to 24 hours on their Safari browser when the following conditions have been met:
- A domain classified with cross-site tracking capabilities was responsible for navigating the user to the current webpage
- The final URL of the navigation mentioned above has a query string and/or a fragment identifier
- More info
As you have probably heard by now, Chrome and Firefox are also taking steps with their browsers to help protect their users’ privacy.
Google Chrome’s opt-in cookie control and browser extension were created to help their users have more control over the data collection and the ads that would typically be served.
Firefox’s Private Browsing also adds a layer of protection by erasing all cookies, passwords and history of sites visited when the session has ended.
What is the Impact?
Publishers
From a publisher perspective, these shorter windows can cause concern over losing credit and commissions for orders being sent to advertisers. When Apple ITP 2.1 was rolled out, we were contacted by a handful of publishers threatening to stop promoting affiliate programs we managed until the advertiser’s site was updated. Fortunately, we were able to work with networks and our advertisers to get their site updated very quickly. A strong partnership with our network teams allowed us to get these programs updated without any interruption of promotion by publishers.
Networks
From a network perspective, they want to be sure their tracking technology is future-proofed and ITP compliant to maintain their reporting integrity and to protect their publishers.
Here are some of resources from the networks we work with:
Commission Junction – Advertiser Integration Solutions for ITP 2.2 and Beyond
Impact – Safari’s Done It Again—What You Need to Know About ITP 2.2
LinkConnector – Safari’s ITP 2.0 – Is Your Program Ready?
Pepperjam – You Down With ITP? The Updates Continue
Advertisers
Advertisers risk losing out on revenue from digital channels, including affiliate, if their sites are not updated to meet the requirements listed above for first-party cookies. According to this Impact post, “Apple’s Safari browser accounts for 15% of all web traffic and 21% of mobile web traffic globally. Safari’s market share is even higher in the United States, where Safari accounts for 31% of all web traffic and 49% of all mobile web traffic.”
If your affiliate program drives significant mobile traffic, you will want to be sure your site it Apple ITP 2.2 compliant.
If you are not sure if your site is Apple ITP 2.2 compliant and you are concerned about losing out on potential sales from the affiliate channel, feel free to reach out to us at gethelp@jebcommerce.com, and we would be happy to help.
