Let’s look at how to Remove Tracking Parameters from URL on iPhones and Macs. People like me, who are worried about their privacy and digital marketing, are looking for solutions to hide their digital footprints as digital marketing and monitoring expand. Apple has implemented Advanced Tracking Protection to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac to protect our privacy. Safari will now delete tracking information from all URLs you visit. It enhances the privacy and security of internet users. This article will discuss Advanced Tracking Security, and how to remove tracking parameters from URL for iPhone Mac.
Enable automatic URL tracking parameter removal in iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma
Private Browsing on your Apple devices already has Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection activated. The steps below will enable system-wide usage of the extension in Safari, Mail, and Messages.
On iPhone
- Select Safari, then Settings, then Advanced.
- Click on Advanced Tracking and Fingerprint Protection.
- Choose Any Web Site.
On Mac
- Launch Safari on your Mac.
- To access Safari once it has been activated, select it from the main menu.
- Go to Preferences Select the “Advanced” menu option.
- Check Use sophisticated anti-tracking and anti-fingerprinting measures.
- Select all browsing by clicking the corresponding drop-down menu.
How does Advanced Tracking Protection work on iPhone and Mac
Link Protection was the first part of Enhanced Private Browsing. It stops known trackers from loading on web pages and gets rid of tracking information from the URLs you view. The tracking information is also taken out of the URL if you copy a link that has trackers.
In practice this safeguards both your personal information and the device’s uniqueness. To keep Safari going, though Apple included the extension by default. Messages and Email links can likewise be protected in this way.
Apple showed how the Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection feature gets rid of URL parameters without restarting the page during a WWDC 2024 developer video session. You might be thinking what tracking settings are now.
How are tracking parameters identified
Tracking parameters add extra information to a URL. These are used by advertisers and websites to track what users do, and collect data that can be used for ads, analytics or personalizing the experience. It shows them where people came from, what marketing campaigns brought people to the site and so on.
Take the URL https://example.com/page?click_id=Tsdht234Xser&source=advertising&campaign=summer_sale&utm_medium=email as an example.
The following are the tracking settings for this URL:
click_id= Tsdht234Xser: It is the one-of-a-kind number that was given to the click.
source=advertising:Â It shows where the visitor came from, which in this case was ads.
source=advertising:Â This tells you which marketing effort is linked to the URL.
utm_medium=email:Â In this case, it means the way the URL was shared, which was via email.
Tracking factors can also raise privacy concerns because they create profiles of online behavior. Safari’s Advanced Tracking Protection protects users from being tracked and limits the amount of information that is shared. It removes the click_id, and other user identifiers immediately so you are not tracked across websites.
Benefits of Advanced Tracking Protection
Turning on the Advanced Tracking Protection tool for all of your viewing has a number of benefits, such as:
- Better privacy: Safari helps stop websites and marketers from watching your online actions by taking tracking parameters out of URLs. This makes it harder for them to make thorough studies of the sites you visit and show you ads that are more relevant to you.
- Security has been improved because bad people might use URL tracking settings to get private data. Getting rid of these factors lowers the chance of being exposed to these threats, making surfing safer.
- Faster loading times: Many tracking factors are used to gather information about your tastes, which can make it take longer for websites to load. By getting rid of them, Safari can make viewing easier and speed up the loading of websites.
- Simplified URLs: URLs with a lot of tracking data can look long and complicated. Advanced Tracking Protection makes URLs simpler and easier to read so they are easier to understand and share.
No more nosy people!
Safari on iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, there is a tool named ” Advance Tracking Protection“, which protects your privacy while improving web browsing. This tool makes it easier to browse the web on Apple devices, while also making it safer and more private. Link Protection will help you regain control of your online trail.
