Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP)
What is Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP)?
Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) is a privacy feature built into Apple’s Safari browser that uses on-device machine learning to block trackers. Unlike standard ad blockers, ITP analyzes browsing behavior in real-time to detect domains that track users across multiple websites. If tracking is detected, ITP restricts the lifespan of cookies and limits that domain's ability to store data on the user's device.
Why does ITP matter for compliance?
For website owners, ITP enforces data minimization by default. Because ITP aggressively purges third-party cookies (often after 24 hours), businesses relying on traditional tracking pixels may see inflated visitor counts and broken conversion attribution. To remain compliant and accurate, businesses must shift strategies to rely on first-party data and consent-based frameworks like Clym, rather than passive background tracking.
FAQs about Intelligent Tracking Prevention
No. ITP primarily targets third-party cookies used for cross-site tracking. First-party cookies are allowed, though their lifespan may be capped (often at 7 days) if set via client-side scripts.
Yes, users can disable it in Safari settings by unchecking "Prevent cross-site tracking," but this lowers security. Website owners should not ask users to do this; instead, they should adopt privacy-first analytics.
Yes. Since Google Analytics uses cookies to identify unique users, ITP’s restriction on cookie lifespans can cause Safari users to appear as "new" visitors more frequently, skewing retention metrics.