Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP)
Apple Safari’s privacy feature that limits cookie lifespan and blocks cross-site tracking. ITP reduces first-party cookie life to 7 days (or 24 hours when set via JavaScript with tracking query parameters) and blocks all third-party cookies.
Impact on analytics
Safari holds approximately 20% of European browser market share (higher on mobile). ITP means that any visitor who returns after 7 days appears as a “new” visitor in cookie-based analytics — inflating new user counts and fragmenting user journeys.
For analytics that rely on cookies for session stitching and attribution, ITP makes accurate multi-visit tracking effectively impossible on Safari. Combined with Firefox’s Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP), more than 35% of browser traffic is subject to aggressive cookie restrictions.
Why first-party measurement is unaffected
Cookieless analytics does not store cookies on the visitor’s device, so ITP and ETP have no effect on data collection. The first-party cookieless approach captures sessions regardless of browser privacy features.
Related concepts
- Cookieless AnalyticsWeb analytics that captures visitor data without using browser cookies, enabling 100% traffic measurement regardless of consent status or browser restrictions.
- First-Party Data CollectionCollecting analytics data through your own domain infrastructure rather than third-party servers. First-party requests are invisible to ad blockers and not subject to third-party cookie restrictions.
- Data Loss in AnalyticsThe gap between actual website traffic and what analytics tools report. Caused by consent rejection, ad blockers, browser restrictions, and data sampling. Typically 70-87% in the EU.
- Ad Blocker Impact on AnalyticsThe data loss caused by browser extensions and built-in features that block third-party analytics scripts. Ad blockers affect 40%+ of EU users, making analytics tools like GA4 blind to a significant portion of traffic.
Learn more: Cookieless Analytics Explained · How SealMetrics Works