Source: Digiday
Apple is reasserting control over first-party identity on its devices, cutting off ad tech vendors from direct access to user identification and forcing them back into Apple's walled ecosystem for targeting. This enforces existing restrictions more aggressively. Ad buyers who've built workarounds now face real operational friction and will have to renegotiate terms directly with Apple or accept degraded campaign performance. Ad networks lose direct relationship data, publishers lose leverage, and Apple consolidates its position as the mandatory intermediary between advertisers and iPhone users.