iOS17: Protection against link tracking and marketing attribution

👋 With the rollout of iOS17, Apple introduced Link Tracking Protection (LTP), which automatically removes certain tracking settings for links clicked via iMessages, Mail and Safari in private browsing. This impacts marketing attribution, personalization, retargeting and analytics. Alternative solutions are proposed in this article.

Since the public rollout of iOS17, Apple has launched a new privacy feature called Link Tracking Protection (LTP).

What is Link Tracking Protection (LTP)?

In 2021, Apple introduced "Apple Mail Privacy Protection" (MPP), which has had an impact on e-mail marketing, including open rates, location data and send time optimization, among others.

Now Apple is introducing Link Tracking Protection. In other words, certain parameters will be automatically removed from the query string when someone clicks on a link via iMessages, Mail and the private Safari browser.

What parameters are affected?

Before and after link protection

For example, if your link is www.mysite.com?utm_medium=summerdeal&gclid=9872Yiohzdwith iOS17, the link will become www.mysite.com?utm_medium=summerdeal, losing the parameter gclid. Goodbye automatic link tracking and Google Ads attribution.

The impact of LTP on marketing attribution

iOS devices account for around 30% of the market. In addition, iMessage is used by 17% of users, Apple Mail by 59%, and private browsing by 50%. Of those who use private browsing on a daily basis, almost 40% shop.

The main impacts could be :

• Reduced attribution: Tracking metrics are used to measure the success of a campaign. LTP makes this understanding more difficult.

• Personalization and audience: Without certain parameters, it's difficult to offer personalized experiences or content based on past interactions, and to create targeted segments.

• Retargeting limitations: These parameters are often used for retargeting. With LTP, these identifiers will be removed, which may affect retargeting efforts.

• Analysis and reporting: Deleting parameters will impact the accuracy and detail of analyses. Some metrics will be less precise.

How to get around the LTP?

UTMs are not included by default in Google Ads campaigns. If you only use GA4, please add UTMs manually to obtain the necessary data.

Use UTMs to effectively measure your Google Ads campaigns.

Here are some solutions to avoid LTP:

• Google Ads + UTM: configure automatic tracking in Google Ads and add UTM settings. Use UTMs in Google Analytics if gclid is removed...

• Lookup Table: create a table to store your advertising information in a new parameter to avoid LTP.

• Different landing pages: direct users to different pages to identify the best campaigns.

💡 O ur recommendationsAddUTM parameters but also potentially create a unique internal repository parameter that can return your campaign information.