How Apple’s iOS 17 update affects affiliate tracking and what to do ahead of Q4's peak

Apple’s full release of iOS 17 is due in mid-September and the latest upgrade includes a raft of privacy changes that will have marketers scrambling to adapt with Q4’s annual sales frenzy just around the corner. 

Chief among those for affiliate marketers to pay particular attention to is what Apple calls Link Tracking Protection. 

What is Link Tracking Protection and how will it impact my campaign measurement? 

Apple has increasingly positioned its brand as a privacy conscious one at the expense of its other big tech rivals and Link Tracking Protection further cements that status. The new update will remove additional parameters it deems sensitive from URLs that users click on in Messages, Mail and within Private Browsing mode in Safari (though notably not within its default browser mode).  

These parameters have increasingly been adopted by digital marketers to record information about individual users or audience segments which can then be used for reporting as well as personalisation or retargeting efforts. 

For those users that switch to private browsing, early testing by Awin’s team shows that our all-important conversion measurement parameter is unaffected. By contrast, parameters such as those deployed for tracking across Facebook and Google’s properties (e.g. ‘fbclid’, ‘gclid’ and ‘dclid’) are removed. The distinction here is thought to be that Awin’s tracking is not being used to build individual user profiles for the purposes of targeting. Instead, it is solely concerned with monitoring whether a conversion occurs so that an affiliate can be rewarded for that sale.

Does Link Tracking Protection affect any aspects of affiliate tracking? 

Advertisers who are fully integrated with Awin’s complete set of tracking tools will be unaffected and don’t need to take any action. Our full tracking suite provides layers of redundancy and while some elements may be blocked there will always be a back up method that ensures your affiliate activity continues to track. 

If you are solely reliant on the MasterTag then further levels of redundancy will need to be added. While testing the MacOS Sonoma update we saw that, again, when in Private Browsing mode in Safari, the MasterTag was blocked. However, if Server-to-Server tracking is also in place then the blocking of the MasterTag does not affect affiliate tracking. 

By implementing Awin's full tracking suite ahead of Q4 customers can future-proof their tracking, rather than relying on just one or two elements. With different browsers taking different approaches to privacy and consumers drifting seamlessly between various devices and online environments, it’s essential to have the most comprehensive and adaptable tracking setup to ensure complete visibility on your affiliate activity. 

What next steps should I take to ensure I’m ready for Q4?  

If you’re an advertiser…

1. Make sure you’ve set your programme up with Server-to-Server tracking which uses first-party cookies and is privacy compliant. Use the Tracking Installation Guide from the Support menu in the UI and follow the wizard to get started. 
2. Continue to use the Awin fallback pixel which is still a useful contingency method for tracking.
3. Activate the Awin MasterTag. The MasterTag remains a highly effective tracking solution that will continue to evolve. It loads multiple measurement methods and is automatically updated with new tracking enhancements as they’re released. Activating it ensures your tracking is completely up-to-date.  

If you’re a publisher… 

1. Activate Awin’s Publisher MasterTag. This features the Tracking Optimisation plugin which ensures the best method for tracking is automatically selected as the user clicks out from the publisher’s site to the advertiser’s. 
2. Make sure you’re using the correct Awin links. Access the right links for your ad creative and tracking links either within the Awin UI via our Link Builder, or generate links automatically through our browser extensions for Chrome and Edge. 
3. If you’re a cashback publisher make sure you contact support to obtain a consent exemption and get cashback cookies, which will negate consent on the advertiser side and ensure their tracking is compliant. 

Q4 2023 promises to be another busy period for online business with shoppers primed to spend big. Don’t miss your targets by falling foul of the latest browser changes and failing to upgrade your affiliate tracking.  

Advertisers should get started with Server-to-Server while publishers should ensure they have the Publisher MasterTag installed and the Tracking Optimisation Plugin activated to power your growth over Q4.