####The latest update to Apple’s Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) has been announced with changes significantly impacting cookie lifespan.

The Apple ITP 2.2 launch has received a great deal of attention in the performance marketing sector, with much focus on the substantial reduction in cookie lifespan from 7 days to 24 hours.

This update follows the February 2019 launch of ITP 2.1 which introduced a 7-day cap to reduce the ability to monitor user browsing behaviour.  This latest update, affecting users of the Safari browser, sees the cross-site cookie window reduced to just 24 hours for all traffic.

These further developments in browser-based privacy tools take aim at the increase in the use of third-party cookies mimicking first party. Apple's focus has shifted to restricting the measurement of traffic and attribution of ads, treating advertiser first-party cookies in the same way as ad network cookies.

The latest in anti-tracking methods, it will continue to impact solutions like DoubleClick Conversion Linker and campaigns where cross-channel deduplication attribution is used over a purchase window > 24 hours. Methods put in place by vendors to work alongside ITP 2.1 are now being targeted resulting in negative effects when attributing across multi-channels.

The reduction in cookie duration could mean your tracking integrations no longer track conversions outside of a 24-hour window, impacting the holistic measurement of your affiliate activity and ad campaigns, the ability to apply de-duplication rules and the accuracy of attribution across channels or devices.

If you have implemented our Universal Tracking Tag or an ITP compliant configuration, your tracking will not be affected, but the reduced conversion window will mean that if a user converts on a Safari browser more than 24 hours after the last click was logged, those transactions may not be credited to a partner. 

Based on data from our network, we have identified that on average 12% of transactions occur after a 24-hour period. However, this is significantly higher, up to 40%, for high-value products such as investments, loans and general insurance. 

To prevent any impact from these changes, and to ensure the robustness of your tracking, we recommend that Clients implement server to server tracking. This will ensure that all sales are correctly tracked and attribution analytics are unaffected.

If you are utilising a third-party platform, please confirm via the button below your proposed changes to guarantee accurate tracking of your affiliate activity.

Under the current circumstances, we have not seen any impact from the ITP updates across the network, but are aware that this could change at any time, especially given the speed at which new versions are being released.

The application of tracking restrictions in web browsers is trending with Google announcing at their annual developer’s convention, Google I/O, that they will also be making changes to tracking on their web browser - Chrome. The update aims to provide users with more transparency about how websites are using cookies, as well as simpler controls for cross-site cookies. 

We will regularly update you of any industry changes and how they may affect your affiliate performance.

You can also find a wealth of informative material on the Optimise Knowledge Base.

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