ITP
ITP (Intelligent Tracking Prevention) is Apple's privacy feature in Safari that limits tracking cookies and prevents third parties from following users across websites. It significantly impacts how your online store can track and retarget Safari users.
What is ITP?
Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) is a feature in Apple’s Safari browser that automatically limits the use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Its purpose is to protect users’ privacy by preventing advertisers from tracking them across different websites.
ITP was introduced in 2017 and has since been significantly strengthened. In the latest versions, ITP blocks nearly all third-party cookies and limits first-party cookies set via JavaScript to a 7-day lifespan (or 24 hours in certain cases).
What does ITP mean for your online store?
ITP affects several critical aspects of your online marketing:
Shorter tracking windows
Cookies set by Facebook Pixel, Google Ads, and other tracking scripts via JavaScript are limited to a 7-day lifespan in Safari. This means that a customer who sees your ad on Monday and makes a purchase on Sunday may not be attributed to the campaign that brought them there.
Retargeting limitations
Third-party cookies are used for retargeting. Since ITP blocks them in Safari, you cannot retarget Safari users using traditional methods such as the Google Display Network or Facebook Pixel (client-side).
Inaccurate conversion tracking
Shorter cookie lifetimes mean that conversions occurring more than 7 days after the click are not recorded correctly. This provides an incomplete picture of your campaigns’ effectiveness.
Impact on analytics
Even Google Analytics cookies are affected. Returning visitors may be counted as new users if more than 7 days have passed between visits. This skews your user counts and session data.
How widespread is Safari?
Safari has a significant market share in Denmark—typically 25–35% on desktop and even more on mobile, since all iPhones use Safari (or the Safari engine via WebKit). This means that ITP affects a large portion of your traffic and your conversion data.
How to handle ITP
- Server-side tracking: The most important solution. Server-side Google Tag Manager and the Facebook Conversions API set cookies from your server (first-party), which are not subject to ITP’s JavaScript restrictions.
- Conversions API (CAPI): Facebook’s server-side tracking sends conversion data directly from your server to Facebook, independent of browser cookies. Shoporama supports this via Facebook access tokens.
- Enhanced Conversions: Google Ads’ Enhanced Conversions sends hashed customer data (email) to supplement cookies for better conversion matching.
- Consent Mode: Google’s Consent Mode can model conversions from users who do not accept cookies based on statistical models.
ITP in Context
ITP is part of a broader privacy trend:
- Safari ITP: Apple’s solution—the most restrictive
- Firefox ETP: Mozilla’s Enhanced Tracking Protection—similar restrictions
- Chrome’s Privacy Sandbox: Google’s replacement for third-party cookies — rolling out gradually
- Apple ATT: App Tracking Transparency in iOS — requires opt-in for tracking in apps
The trend is clear: browser-based tracking is becoming increasingly restricted. Server-side tracking and first-party data are the future of accurate conversion tracking.
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We know online marketing in Shoporama
We've been working with online marketing ourselves for decades. As the only shop system in the country, we have spoken multiple times at conferences such as Marketingcamp, SEOday, Shopcamp, Digital Marketing, E-commerce Manager, Ecommerce Day, Web Analytics Wednesday and many more.