iOS 17 Can Automatically Remove Tracking Parameters From URLs in Safari, Messages, and Mail

[coolfactor]

There are ways around this for advertisers.

For example, the campaign_id in the screenshot above could easily be the actual identifier for an individual. campaign_id=1 could be Dave Smith. 2 could be Jane Doe. 3 could be Rob Smeghead, etc.

Also, you could tailor every link to go to a specific page, i.e. https://example.com/page1 is for Dave Smith, page2 is for Jane Doe, page3 is for that Smeghead guy.

By moving the tracking from the link to the website itself, Apple can't stop it. The nefarious advertisers will always find a way around this.

(NB: This only applies for companies doing their own advertising.)

Nope, that's not how it works. Everything before the ? in a URL is a unique identifier to a page (or web resource). Anything after that can be arbitrary and doesn't affect the URL, unless the website itself is looking at (or querying) the query string.

This means that advertisers can tack on their own query parameters onto any URL without changing the URL itself. The website will only see what it needs, and ignore the rest, while the advertiser can pick up the parameters that they added.

An advertiser can't invent their own URLs for a website. They'd be pointing to a resource that likely wouldn't exist.

I'm curious how Apple's feature determines which parameters can safely be removed? As a website developer, I haven't used query string parameters in 20+ years because they are ugly, but any existing websites still using query string parameters for functionality could theoretically be broken by this feature.

 

[andrewxgx]

Nope, that's not how it works. Everything before the ? in a URL is a unique identifier to a page (or web resource). Anything after that can be arbitrary and doesn't affect the URL, unless the website itself is looking at (or querying) the query string.

This means that advertisers can tack on their own query parameters onto any URL without changing the URL itself. The website will only see what it needs, and ignore the rest, while the advertiser can pick up the parameters that they added.

I'm curious how Apple's feature determines which parameters can safely be removed? As a website developer, I haven't used query string parameters in 20+ years because they are ugly, but any existing websites still using query string parameters for functionality could theoretically be broken by this feature.

you're wrong buddy
fb/ig has already implemented server-side (or application-side if you will) tracking URLs
basically instead of something like site.com/page you got site.com/randomID which server decodes into site.com/page but knows who created the link

 

[CarAnalogy]

Advertisers hate this one simple trick!

 

[CarAnalogy]

iPadOS automatically inherits all of these features, as it's a superset of iOS.

Superset = everything + other stuff

I would almost call it a subset or just a fork. iOS gets all the features first. iPadOS has Stage Manager and… seriously help me out, what else? iPhone has calculator. So far by my count the unique feature set is an even tally.

 

[upandown]

I like the idea but, why can't this also be enabled in standard Safari mode as well?

Read my post and others 👆🏻

 

[Anglagard]

Isnt this a bit ironic, considering we all know Apple gathers tons of info from us ?

 

[Fofer]

What about my Amazon affiliate sites 😩 They all use the same tag.

I have the same question. hmm…

 

[Joe Rossignol]

You can also enable this feature for a regular non private browser tab. It’s off by default but can be enabled in the settings.

I've updated the MacRumors story to reflect this. Thanks!

 

[canadianreader]

This is a great addition to Safari. There's also similar extension for Firefox https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/clearurls/

 

[rafark]

as someone who removes everything following a question mark (with rare exception) in a URL while sharing, this is a highly appreciated addition. iOS 17 is shaping up great.



!!!

You must be getting a lot of 404s. Seriously, why do people have to make their life’s more complicated than they need to be? Query string parameters are an integral part of a GET request and we’re not designed to be used exclusively for tracking.

 

[canadianreader]

There are ways around this for advertisers.

For example, the campaign_id in the screenshot above could easily be the actual identifier for an individual. campaign_id=1 could be Dave Smith. 2 could be Jane Doe. 3 could be Rob Smeghead, etc.

Also, you could tailor every link to go to a specific page, i.e. https://example.com/page1 is for Dave Smith, page2 is for Jane Doe, page3 is for that Smeghead guy.

By moving the tracking from the link to the website itself, Apple can't stop it. The nefarious advertisers will always find a way around this.

(NB: This only applies for companies doing their own advertising.)

The most effective way I found is using dns filters, that may not suit everyone since it could break a lot of websites.

 

[bgarnett]

Sounds great. Now if they could tackle those annoying ads that make pages move up/down/reload, these seem so prevalent lately. I’d be even happier if I got an option to turn ads off but know zero likelihood there, sadly.

 

[sw1tcher]

What about my Amazon affiliate sites 😩 They all use the same tag.

I guess that means MacRumors not going to get credit for all their affiliate links either when feature is enabled?

 

[max2]

Amazing!

Way to go!

It really is about all the small features!

 

[coolbreeze2]

Great, saves me editing them out when I paste them into my nav window.

I would like to know how to do this. Thx.

 

[diego.caraballo]

I want this feature when sharing links to other people.
Look at eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/373817331660?var=642860276149&_trkparms=%26rpp_cid%3D6244a578882efb526474a389%26rpp_icid%3D6244a578882efb526474a388&_trkparms=pageci%3Aaefccdda-0d72-11ee-87f0-5635da5d84ee%7Cparentrq%3Acbff10291880a9f66c0497b7fffd7e3e%7Ciid%3A1

should be shared as:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/373817331660

 

[boswald]

These are the kinds of things that make me regret choosing Android as my last phone.

 

[coolbreeze2]

Do I have this setup to prevent cross-tracking both in private browsing and regular browsing?

 

[now i see it]

but I like being tracked. It makes me feel special

 

[Gengar]

A big privacy WIN.

 

[coolbreeze2]

Yes, toggle it on.

ok

 

[Brad7]

Do I have this setup to prevent cross-tracking both in private browsing and regular browsing?

Wait how come yours says Hide IP Address From Trackers and Websites? Mine only says From Trackers…

 

[mandrake2016]

I'm also kind of curious about the GET parameters (i.e. what comes after "?")... is there now some set of rules or best practices for those?

Are they just going after parameter patterns used by certain large known entities/systems?

What if my website happens to use the same parameter scheme/syntax as one of these flagged trackers.. I guess the main question being, is there more to this blocking than just looking at the URL?

I also strip that stuff from Amazon/eBay/etc, but I do always double-check if the link still works, and sometimes I remove too much.. which is exactly why browsers like Brave, or some blocker plugins do just break "legit"/desired functionality beyond trackers/annoyances. It's also why I always figured the mainstream, default browser behavior doesn't offer that type of functionality, until now I guess, so will be interested to see if Apple pulls it off better.

 

[nquinn]

Kind of torn on this.

Part of me wants more privacy of course. A lot of these aren't even that much about privacy but just tracking the conversion effectiveness of broader ad campaigns, keywords, etc (think UTM parameters)

However, I also know that ads power pretty much all of the free experiences we have on the internet.

Also I worry if this might break some of the cashback sites I use.

 

[Solomani]

Lord Zuckerberg will not be pleased.