Navigating privacy changes by Apple and other browser vendors

In recent years, browser providers like Apple, Google, Mozilla, and Microsoft have made significant improvements to user privacy. The public conversation often focuses on the restriction of third-party cookies, but these privacy updates have broader effects, too.

Apple, through its Safari browser, has led many of these changes. Safari now includes powerful privacy tools such as Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP), Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection (ATP), and App Tracking Transparency (ATT). While ATT is specific to mobile apps, ITP and ATP primarily affect websites and online analytics.

Because these changes by Apple are among the strictest, we’ll mainly focus on Apple’s approach.

How Apple's privacy tools affect analytics and Videoly implementation

Apple’s ITP restricts certain methods that websites use to track and analyze user behavior. Latest restrictions especially affect tools like Google Analytics (GA) and Google Tag Manager (GTM), which many Videoly clients use. GTM often helps deploy Videoly's JavaScript, which powers video widgets on websites.

Recent updates, particularly in early 2025, have increased these restrictions. As a result, certain Google tools—and therefore some Videoly implementations—can be affected. However, the impact remains manageable.

What exactly changed in Safari with ITP and ATP?

Safari’s recent privacy measures include, but are not limited to:

Removing tracking parameters from URLs, like those used by Google and Meta ads.

Shortening also 1st party cookie lifespans, depending on how these are written, limiting tracking capabilities to just 7 days or even as short as 1 day, making returning users harder to identify.

Automatically enabling these restrictions by default, with no need for users to opt-in.

Apple has also introduced Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection (ATP), a stricter tool that:

Can completely block GTM and GA, preventing data collection.

Might stop Videoly’s videos from loading if implemented via GTM or similar methods.

Currently, ATP’s strictest settings only apply automatically when users browse privately (incognito). Regular browsing still has ATP as an optional feature. While this scenario might change in the future, right now the overall impact is limited.

How does this impact your website and Videoly usage?

If your website implements Videoly via GTM, visitors using Safari’s Private Browsing mode might not see Videoly videos or appear in your website analytics data. Note that any 3rd party tool on your website deployed by using GTM is affected. However, it's important to understand that this scenario typically affects only a small portion of your overall web traffic.

A good benchmark to keep in mind:

Typically, 5-10% of website visitors use private browsing modes.

Safari users typically represent around 18% of global website traffic on average, though there are noticeable regional and web-site specific differences e.g. some sites are browsed more by iOS/iPhone users.

Combining these factors, the overall traffic affected could be around 2%. Again, this number might vary depending on your specific user base and their browsing habits.

It is possible that other browser vendors will pose similar limitations, albeit is very unlikely that Google would limit the use of its own tool, GTM, in its Chrome browser.

Thus, the current impact is quite limited, though monitoring your site's specific traffic patterns remains valuable.

Lastly, while currently ATP mainly affects private browsing mode, it could become standard for all Safari users in the future. If that happens, it could have a broader impact on tracking customer interactions, analytics accuracy, and the loading of many third-party tools such as Videoly. However, this scenario is hypothetical. Even if it happens, there are effective solutions to ensure your site remains fully operational and your analytics stay reliable.

Easy steps to adapt to these changes

To ensure that your Videoly implementation stays reliable, we recommend two straightforward solutions:

Switch to server-side tagging for GTM

Hosting GTM scripts on your own domain (server-side tagging) helps bypass browser-level restrictions, ensuring consistent data tracking.

Directly embed Videoly’s JavaScript on your site

Adding Videoly’s script directly into your website template guarantees that your videos load correctly, regardless of GTM's status or browser settings.

Implementing these solutions ensures a smooth experience for your website visitors and maintains accurate analytics.

In summary

Browser vendors making privacy updates is a positive trend, reflecting users' desire for better privacy. While these changes may initially seem complex, adapting your implementation approach is straightforward and manageable.

Videoly remains fully compatible and safe for your website. By keeping an eye on changes by browser vendors and adapting proactively, you can continue providing a great user experience and accurate analytics not only with Videoly, but other technologies you may use on your website.

If you have any questions or need assistance implementing these solutions, please feel free to reach out—we’re always here to support you!