Navigating iOS 26: What you need to know

Apple’s  iOS 26  are reshaping how digital campaigns are tracked and measured. These shifts are driven by stronger privacy protections, smarter analytics, and evolving user behaviour, especially on mobile.  

Here’s what’s changing, how it impacts your advertising, and what you should be doing to stay ahead.  

What’s changing?

The biggest headline from the iOS 26 announcement is around privacy updates. Apple may now  strip tracking identifiers such as gclid (Google Click ID) and fbclid (Facebook Click ID) from Safari, Mail, and Messages which could mean a large portion of campaign data that marketers previously relied on is no longer being passed back to advertising platforms

On top of that, App Tracking Transparency (ATT) continues to require users to actively opt in to tracking which most users choose not to, further limiting the available data to advertisers. 

SKAdNetwork 5.0 is now the default framework for app install attribution and while it is more accurate than earlier versions, it still only offers aggregated insights rather than the detailed, user-level view that many marketers are used to. 

What do these changes mean?

• Less visibility into user-level data, especially on iOS devices: With gclid and fbclid now potentially being removed, you’ll see fewer details about individual users’ journeys, making it harder to understand exactly how campaigns are performing. 

• Smaller retargeting audiences due to limited tracking: With less third-party data available, the pool of users you can retarget on social and display platforms will  could could shrink and so it will require smarter audience segmentation. 

• More reliance on modelled data and first-party signals: Insights will come from more aggregated or modelled data, as well as the information you collect directly from users, rather than from third-party tracking. 

What should you be doing right now?

These changes don’t mean the end of campaign measurement (Apple has said so themselves historically, they don’t want to break the internet) but they do mean marketers need to adapt quickly. With less reliance on third-party identifiers and user-level tracking, success will come from strengthening your measurement foundations, leaning into privacy-first practices, and making better use of the tools that still work. Here are our five steps to stay ahead: 

1. Use UTM parameters on every link

With the latest iOS update, Apple are still fully supporting UTMs, making them one of the most reliable ways to measure campaign performance in GA4. It is important to make sure every link is tagged with parameters such as utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign and by standardising your UTM structure across all channels (email, social, paid media, influencer campaigns) this will give you cleaner and more consistent reporting. 

2. Build and use first-party data

First-party data is now the most reliable and you can collect it directly through your site or app using clear, consent-driven forms. It is important to focus on valuable identifiers such as email addresses, phone numbers, and in-app behaviours. Once captured, this data can be fed into ad platforms like Meta, Google, and TikTok to build stronger audience targeting.  

3. Configure GA4 for smarter attribution

GA4 should be seen as your central hub for campaign measurement. You should ensure you key conversion events are setup and tracked correctly – whether that’s purchases, sign-ups, or app installs. GA4’s Data-Driven Attribution (DDA) model will do the rest to get a more accurate picture of the customer journey across multiple touch points.  

4. Optimise for consent

Tracking only works if users opt in, especially on iOS. To increase your consent rates, ensure that your opt-in flows are transparent, value-driven and easy to understand, and experiment with different messaging over time to see what users respond to best. 

5. Consider server-side tagging

As browser-based tracking becomes increasingly restricted, server-side tagging offers a more resilient solution. By sending events directly from your server to GA4 and ad platforms, you reduce reliance on cookies and client-side scripts while improving data accuracy.  You can look into using tools like Google Tag Manager’s server-side setup to future-proof your tracking infrastructure. 

Overall, this isn’t something to panic about, keep an eye out on your metrics, and as long as you or your data solutions team is abiding by best practices, you’ll remain ahead of the curve.