Apple Blocks Third-Party Cookies in Safari (zdnet.com) 16
Starting this week, with the release of Safari 13.1 and through updates to the Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) privacy feature, Apple now blocks all third-party cookies in Safari by default. From a report: The company's move means that online advertisers and analytics firms cannot use browser cookie files anymore to track users as they visit different sites across the internet. But Apple says the move isn't actually a big deal, since they were already blocking most third-party cookies used for tracking anyway. "It might seem like a bigger change than it is," said John Wilander, an Apple software engineer. "But we've added so many restrictions to ITP since its initial release in 2017 that we are now at a place where most third-party cookies are already blocked in Safari."
Apple stifling competition once again (Score:3)
I want a choice in my cookies, I don't want to be stuck with Apple Only cookies.
Sure Apple Cookies look nice, however they are not practical for real world use.
If I wanted to make my own cookies how am I supposed to have a business model with a giant like Apple blocking it.
(yes this is sarcasm)
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Now block fingerprinting ASAP (Score:5, Interesting)
Apple is moving too slow. Third party cookies were state-of-the-art years ago. It is time to block all forms of browser fingerprinting. Even better, Safari should implement a "tor-lite" mechanism where a certain percentage of requests get routed through another user's IP address.
I want Apple to take the forefront here and make it impossible to track users across the web or form any kind of meaningful profile on them.
Re:Now block fingerprinting ASAP (Score:5, Insightful)
Even better, Safari should implement a "tor-lite" mechanism where a certain percentage of requests get routed through another user's IP address.
Keep your traffic away from my IP address, please. I will, of course, reciprocate and keep mine away from yours.
If I wanted the traffic of others to pass through my IP address, I would run a Tor relay node for the people who wants to use Tor. Oh, wait, I do run a Tor relay node. Important: A relay node, and not an exit node.
In short, no Apple should not do that.
Re:Now block fingerprinting ASAP (Score:4, Informative)
Third party cookies were state-of-the-art years ago.
Which is why Apple has been blocking almost all third-party cookies since 2017. The only change now is that they are blocking all third-party cookies. Safari's system uses some "intelligence" that tries to recognize which sites you actually visit and allow content from those sites when you visit other sites (e.g. loading embedded tweets if you actually visit Twitter). Third-party cookies have been allowed in that system up to this point, but no more, apparently.
It is time to block all forms of browser fingerprinting.
Apple has been blocking canvas and most other forms of fingerprinting since 2018 [engadget.com] and has been blocking most third-party trackers [apple.com] since 2017. Again, their system tries to make exceptions for sites you actually visit yourself, but things like social media share buttons or trackers from sites you've never visited have been blocked by default for years.
And their efforts appear to be working. While ads aimed at Chrome have become more expensive in the last few years as tracking has made them more valuable to advertisers, Slashdot reported just a few months ago [slashdot.org] that prices for ads aimed at Safari had plummeted 60% in the two years since Apple's anti-tracking initiative kicked up a notch as advertisers have become increasingly unable to extract the same value from Safari ads that they could before or still can from other browsers.
Apple is moving too slow.
Are they? I think you're operating from a lack of information, since it seems like you misunderstood what was being reported here and are assuming a lack of effort on their part because you haven't been aware of their efforts up to this point. Had you simply opened the article, you'd have been able to clear up a lot of those misconceptions, since the article starts with:
Starting today, with the release of Safari 13.1 and through updates to the Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) privacy feature, Apple now blocks all third-party cookies in Safari by default.
[...]
But Apple says the move isn't actually a big deal, since they were already blocking most third-party cookies used for tracking anyway.
"It might seem like a bigger change than it is," said John Wilander, an Apple software engineer. "But we've added so many restrictions to ITP since its initial release in 2017 that we are now at a place where most third-party cookies are already blocked in Safari."
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I want Apple to take the forefront here
Sorry for the double-post in response to you, but I wanted to add that Apple is at the forefront here: they're the first mainstream browser to block all third-party cookies. Google says that Chrome will do so sometime within the next two years [chromium.org]. Apple's blog post [webkit.org] specifically praises Brave as being close behind Safari in this regard, saying that there aren't many things keeping Brave from blocking third-party cookies in the near future. The only browser to beat Safari to the punch—at least that they're
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Fox god (Score:1)
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All Hail the Fox God !
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Forget the fox, I want the cute bunny.
. . . we're talking about Zootopia, right?
Let us install extensions without (Score:5, Interesting)
Last night I took the sole macbook at work home so I could remote in from the couch (wife has my laptop). I went to add ublock origin to Safari and it wouldn't let me without signing in to an Apple account. So I installed Firefox and Google Chrome instead.
Perhaps I'm in the wrong for assuming Safari was a good choice for someone who wasn't going to login with Apple (I have an account, for my phone.).
Re: Let us install extensions without (Score:1)
You do not have to login to use Safari.
You do have to have an Apple ID to install things from the Apple App Stores.
Stops working (Score:1)
So Safari stops working on many websites that requires third party cookies
Re:Stops working (Score:4, Insightful)
"Safari stops working on broken websites."
FTFY
Advertising: Ok! -- Spying: No! (Score:3)