Apple is currently on a role to update its operating systems to the next level and that also means that there are some new significant changes coming to your mobile or computer screens.
One of the major changes that have caught our attention is associated to Safari in the latest version of macOS - “Big Sur” as according to the recent announcements made by the company on annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), Apple has blocked Google Analytics from tracking and collecting user data. They are selling the major move as a new exclusive privacy feature which will ensure that no one would now be able to keep an eye on your web browsing activity if you are using Safari on a Macbook.
Safari’s privacy report will show you all the trackers that the browser now automatically blocks once a user visits any such website that follows the user in any way. Below is a screenshot of the similar change taken from Apple’s press release.
It shows that Apple will actually also block more popular trackers such as DoubleClick, Amazon, and Optimizely as well.
As privacy has become the utmost need of every internet user today, Apple is definitely taking steps in the right direction because users can now also choose the websites a Safari extension can work with and also how tools made for data breach cannot also now reveal your password - even not to Apple.
Overall, users of macOS Big Sur will also enjoy the liberty to add a privacy report widget to their desktop to have an easy access to the list of trackers which the browser may have blocked in the past 7 days at least.
Furthermore, it is important to note that neither Apple nor Google has given any official confirmation regarding Safari blocking Google Analytics. This piece of information is just an interpretation of many experts who first saw a review of such a change on WWDC and now are predicting that Apple may take such a turn. There are also tech experts who have argued saying that Apple would only block third-party storage access and not the whole Google Analytics.
No one also knows how Safari will look with the new macOS so there are chances that the predictions can be wrong.
Nevertheless, even if the rumors around the update turns out to be true, it would still be applicable for the desktop version of Safari which fortunately holds less than half the share when compared to mobile Safari.
However, if Apple goes for the similar strategy on mobile Safari, then there can be more trouble for marketers as the mobile version of Apple’s browser has 24.4% market share all around the world and 55% in the USA alone - making it as the most popular mobile browser.
If Apple further plans to expand its tracker blocking capabilities in Safari, it will become even more difficult to target ads and the price will also eventually go down.
On one hand, it may benefit the ad buyers with low rates but websites that publish ads are going to have a really tough time as well.
We will still have to wait and see what really happens.
Update: As highlighted by AppleInsider, Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) in Apple's Safari 14 browser is not completely blocking Google Analytics tracking system, "instead, it's blocking third-party tracking cookies and cross-site scripting requests on Google Analytics from loading. The Privacy Report feature just reflects that. It looks like first-party Google Analytics cookies aren't blocked, so it'll still function as an analytics platform."
Read next: For New Accounts, Google Will Now Automatically Delete The Search And Location History After 18 Months By Default
One of the major changes that have caught our attention is associated to Safari in the latest version of macOS - “Big Sur” as according to the recent announcements made by the company on annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), Apple has blocked Google Analytics from tracking and collecting user data. They are selling the major move as a new exclusive privacy feature which will ensure that no one would now be able to keep an eye on your web browsing activity if you are using Safari on a Macbook.
Safari’s privacy report will show you all the trackers that the browser now automatically blocks once a user visits any such website that follows the user in any way. Below is a screenshot of the similar change taken from Apple’s press release.
It shows that Apple will actually also block more popular trackers such as DoubleClick, Amazon, and Optimizely as well.
As privacy has become the utmost need of every internet user today, Apple is definitely taking steps in the right direction because users can now also choose the websites a Safari extension can work with and also how tools made for data breach cannot also now reveal your password - even not to Apple.
Overall, users of macOS Big Sur will also enjoy the liberty to add a privacy report widget to their desktop to have an easy access to the list of trackers which the browser may have blocked in the past 7 days at least.
Furthermore, it is important to note that neither Apple nor Google has given any official confirmation regarding Safari blocking Google Analytics. This piece of information is just an interpretation of many experts who first saw a review of such a change on WWDC and now are predicting that Apple may take such a turn. There are also tech experts who have argued saying that Apple would only block third-party storage access and not the whole Google Analytics.
No one also knows how Safari will look with the new macOS so there are chances that the predictions can be wrong.
Impact On Digital Marketers
If this change gets implemented, it would turn out to be bad news for marketers and many site owners as well - especially if their large number of users visit from a Safari browser. They are going to lose a valuable set of data that majorly is based on how a Mac user engages with a particular website.Nevertheless, even if the rumors around the update turns out to be true, it would still be applicable for the desktop version of Safari which fortunately holds less than half the share when compared to mobile Safari.
Safari Desktop vs Safari Mobile Market Share
If we look at Safari’s desktop browser market share, then it stands at 9.4% worldwide. In USA, Safari holds 15.4% of the desktop share. But still, while the world may call it as a second most popular desktop browser it stands way behind Chrome and may not create a large impact.However, if Apple goes for the similar strategy on mobile Safari, then there can be more trouble for marketers as the mobile version of Apple’s browser has 24.4% market share all around the world and 55% in the USA alone - making it as the most popular mobile browser.
What Will Be The Future of Advertising With The Change?
Lately, Apple has already been working introducing a more private browsing experience to its users. With their existing efforts to block trackers, there has already been a 60% decrease in pricing for Safari targeted ads.If Apple further plans to expand its tracker blocking capabilities in Safari, it will become even more difficult to target ads and the price will also eventually go down.
On one hand, it may benefit the ad buyers with low rates but websites that publish ads are going to have a really tough time as well.
We will still have to wait and see what really happens.
Update: As highlighted by AppleInsider, Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) in Apple's Safari 14 browser is not completely blocking Google Analytics tracking system, "instead, it's blocking third-party tracking cookies and cross-site scripting requests on Google Analytics from loading. The Privacy Report feature just reflects that. It looks like first-party Google Analytics cookies aren't blocked, so it'll still function as an analytics platform."
Read next: For New Accounts, Google Will Now Automatically Delete The Search And Location History After 18 Months By Default
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