Criteo fears Safari's new privacy settings will hit revenues
New privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser will have a net negative impact on Criteo's revenue of up to 8% to 10%, according to projections by the global advertising technology company. The changes made by Apple aim to prevent ad networks from tracking users, so advertising companies such as Criteo, which specialise in personalised retargeting services, look set to be particularly affected. However, in a recent stock filing, Criteo claimed to have developed a solution to "mitigate about half of the potential impact". Online advertisers have recently asked Apple to reconsider the new browser settings.

by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, November 2, 2017

Apple's new privacy settings for Safari users could negatively affect Criteo's revenue, the ad-tech company said this week in a stock filing.

Last month, Apple rolled out new default settings that aim to prevent ad networks and other tech companies from tracking users. The Safari browser has long blocked cookies set by ad networks and other third parties by default. But the new settings go further by also deleting some of the cookies set directly by publishers after 30 days. The move will help prevent tracking by companies that use first-party cookies to get around Safari's long-standing block on cookies set by third parties.

Criteo, known for its retargeting technology -- which serves ads to people for products they previously viewed on retail sites -- said in its most recent stock filing that it has has developed a "solution" that will allow the company to "mitigate about half of the potential impact" from Safari's new settings. But the company adds that it expects the settings "to have a net negative impact" on revenue (minus acquisition costs) of 8% to 10%. Criteo's revenue minus acquisition costs totaled $234 million for the third quarter.

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A coalition of online ad industry groups recently asked Apple to reconsider the new settings. "Apple's unilateral and heavy-handed approach is bad for consumer choice and bad for the ad-supported online content and services consumers love," the American Association of Advertising Agencies, American Advertising Federation, Association of National Advertisers, Data & Marketing Association, Interactive Advertising Bureau and Network Advertising Initiative said in a letter sent to Apple in September.