The short versionApple's latest software update stopped some large cross-site ad trackers from working in Safari, according to Digiday reporting on October 12, 2026. Aditude said Safari on iPhone and iPad accounted for 11.7% of ads shown and 11.4% of ad revenue, and that eCPMs fell 10.5% among users on the update. With only about 8% of users updated at that point, it put the overall revenue impact at about 1%.
Apple has changed the rules of ad tracking twice before, and the industry remembers what that cost. Now it's counting again. The early numbers are small, but they cover only the few people who've installed the update so far.
What happened
Apple's latest software update stopped some large cross-site ad trackers from working in Safari, Digiday reported on October 12. Apple doesn't describe it as an ad industry story. On its Safari page, the company says Intelligent Tracking Prevention uses on-device intelligence to help prevent cross-site tracking and stops known trackers from using people's IP addresses.
The details
All of these figures come from Digiday, and they reflect the picture at the time of its report.
How much Safari matters. At Aditude, which helps publishers sell ad space, Safari on iPhone and iPad accounted for 11.7% of ads shown and 11.4% of ad revenue.
The early hit. eCPMs, or what publishers earn per thousand ads, fell 10.5% among people on the update.
Why the total looks small. Only about 8% of users had updated, so Aditude put the overall revenue impact at about 1% at that point.
Not everyone felt it yet. Digiday also spoke to publishers who hadn't seen an impact, including ones that rely mainly on subscriptions rather than programmatic ads.
Some of it may change. Digiday reports The Trade Desk's ad server was also caught by the block, then taken off the list in a test version of iOS after a bug report. People on the current iOS version remained blocked, with a fix not expected until at least the end of the month.
Why brands should care
The 1% figure is the number at 8% adoption. iPhone users install updates over time, so the affected share should grow, and anything built on following those people around the web gets weaker with it. Retargeting lists and attribution for iPhone visitors are the obvious places to watch.
Digiday points to history here: Apple's earlier tracking changes in 2017 and 2021 cost the industry billions, and Meta alone said the second one would cost it around $10 billion in a single year. Nobody knows yet if this one is that big. But the direction hasn't changed in nearly a decade.
The audiences you hold yourself aren't affected by this. An email list, a customer file or a text program doesn't depend on a third-party tracker working in someone's browser.
What to do
Our suggestions:
- Check your Safari numbers. Split reporting by browser and device so you can see the change as it happens rather than guess.
- Stop leaning on iPhone retargeting. Expect those audiences to shrink and plan budgets accordingly.
- Grow your first-party list. Give people a real reason to hand over an email or phone number.
- Ask your vendors directly. Find out if any tool you pay for depends on cross-site tracking, and what its plan is.
Sources
- Digiday: Ad industry tallies early losses from Apple's Safari tracking block (Oct 12, 2026)
- Apple: Safari
FAQ
What did Apple change in Safari?
Digiday reported that Apple's latest software update stopped some large cross-site ad trackers from working in Safari. Apple describes Safari's Intelligent Tracking Prevention as using on-device intelligence to help prevent cross-site tracking.
How much did the Safari change cost publishers?
Aditude said eCPMs fell 10.5% among users on the update. With about 8% of users updated at the time, it estimated the overall revenue impact at about 1%.
What should advertisers do about the Safari tracker block?
Our suggestion: rely less on third-party tracking for iPhone audiences and build first-party lists, like email and customer data, that you control.
