--- title: "Apple blocks The Trade Desk's ad ID in Safari; Netflix and retail data carry a Nov. 5 report guided down 12%" description: "Apple's WebKit engineers have now published why they block identity resolution in Safari, and The Trade Desk's identifier stays on the list. Chief Commercial Officer Kristi Argyilan, hired in July to run identity and data partnerships, has to sell the version of targeting Apple cannot reach: logged-in streaming and retail data." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Applications" published: 2026-10-21T16:27:50.836Z modified: 2026-10-21T16:27:50.836Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/apple-blocks-the-trade-desk-s-ad-id-in-safari-netflix-and-retail-data-carry-a-nov-5-report-guided-down-12 language: en keywords: "Apple, The Trade Desk, Ad Tech, Privacy, Netflix, Retail Media" --- # Apple blocks The Trade Desk's ad ID in Safari; Netflix and retail data carry a Nov. 5 report guided down 12% > Apple's WebKit engineers have now published why they block identity resolution in Safari, and The Trade Desk's identifier stays on the list. Chief Commercial Officer Kristi Argyilan, hired in July to run identity and data partnerships, has to sell the version of targeting Apple cannot reach: logged-in streaming and retail data. [Apple](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/apple) named its target on Monday, and the target is the thing [Kristi Argyilan](https://theinference.org/markets/people/kristi-argyilan) was hired to sell. In [a blog post by its WebKit engineers](https://www.adexchanger.com/platforms/apple-publishes-its-plan-to-wipe-out-web-tracking/), the team behind Safari's engine, published Monday October 19, Apple declared identity resolution, the matching of emails, devices and browsing history into one trackable person, off-limits in its browser, with blocking done at the domain level so vendors cannot rework their requests to slip past it [1][2]. Argyilan has run [The Trade Desk](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/the-trade-desk)'s commercial organization since July, and her stated brief is data partnerships: identity, measurement and retail media [3]. The company's advertising identifier, Unified ID 2.0, is still blocked; [the fix that restored The Trade Desk's ability to serve ads in Safari](https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-explains-new-safari-ad-tracking-privacy-restrictions-2026-10) did not restore it [1]. ## The workaround era is over Apple's post ends a decade of cat and mouse with an argument, not just a filter. Even identity graphs walled inside one company's own data fail Apple's test, because the central resolver still acts as a third-party clearinghouse holding cross-site data [2]. The Trade Desk [registered a backstop domain after its main ad-serving domain was blocked](https://theinference.org/article/apple-blocked-the-trade-desk-s-ads-then-asked-it-to-test-a-build-that-may-unblock-them); Apple says it adds restrictions without notice, and it keeps a list that can expand dynamically to hundreds of vendors [1][2]. A scan of 600,000 websites found alternative identifiers on 84 percent of them [1]. As iOS 27 spreads, that plumbing stops working on the default browser of every iPhone [1]. ## The buyers were already leaving Agency patience broke before Apple moved. A 15-person New York agency [told Digiday it pays The Trade Desk 17 percent of spend plus another 12 percent to a reseller](https://digiday.com/marketing/indie-agencies-want-the-trade-desk-and-amazon-dsp-to-acknowledge-their-buying-power-with-negotiating-leverage/) [4]. Even clearing $100,000 a month did not earn direct terms, so the agency moved most of its money off the platform [4]. [Netflix](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/netflix) pulls the other way: from November, [advertisers can target Netflix inventory inside Kokai](https://www.thetradedesk.com/press-room/netflix-unlocking-new-targeting-and-measurement-capabilities-with-the-trade-desk), The Trade Desk's buying platform, with their own data and marketplace segments [5], announced the same morning [Netflix admitted its ad revenue missed its own expectations](https://www.adexchanger.com/daily-news-roundup/wednesday-21102026/) [6]. The quarter The Trade Desk reports on November 5 is guided down about 12 percent [7], and UBS cut its target to $15 while keeping its Buy [8]. *Chart: **The Trade Desk's revenue flattened, and Q3 guidance turns it down** Line chart of The Trade Desk quarterly revenue from Q3 2024 to a guided Q3 2026, flattening then turning down* *Quarterly revenue in US$ millions from SEC filings; the final point is company guidance, not a reported result. [11][12][7]* ## Sell the data Safari cannot see Argyilan's career is the pivot the industry is being pushed into. She launched Target's retail media business, built Albertsons' in-house, and ran [Uber](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/uber)'s advertising past $2 billion in annualized revenue before founder and chief executive Jeff Green hired her to chase what he calls "the opportunities created by AI, commerce, and the open internet" [3][9]. A purchase history is not gathered by following someone across websites, and Apple's block does not reach it. Retailers in The Trade Desk's marketplace represent more than 80 percent of top US retailers' sales, against [Amazon](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/amazon)'s 15 percent [7]. She also sits on the board of [LiveRamp](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/liveramp), another identity company Apple blocked, which the FTC cleared Publicis to buy on Tuesday under neutrality rules [1][3][6]. This week the company [reset employee option strikes to Monday's closing price of $12.26](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1671933/000167193326000108/0001671933-26-000108-index.htm); [232 million votes had opposed it](https://theinference.org/article/the-trade-desk-repriced-options-to-12-26-after-cutting-575-jobs-232-5-million-votes-opposed) [10], so staff are betting on the rebuild too. The identifier is not coming back. The fee now belongs to whoever makes logged-in data usable at scale, and the November 5 report is the first read on whether that rebuild arrives faster than the old business fades [10]. ## Takeaway Apple has closed Safari to identity resolution and The Trade Desk's Unified ID 2.0 stays blocked, so the company's November 5 report now turns on the logged-in streaming and retail data its new chief commercial officer was hired to sell. ## Sources 1. [Business Insider, "Apple explains new Safari ad tracking privacy restrictions", 20 October 2026](https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-explains-new-safari-ad-tracking-privacy-restrictions-2026-10) 2. [AdExchanger, "Apple Publishes Its Plan To Wipe Out Web Tracking", 20 October 2026](https://www.adexchanger.com/platforms/apple-publishes-its-plan-to-wipe-out-web-tracking/) 3. [The Trade Desk via Business Wire, "The Trade Desk Appoints Kristi Argyilan as Chief Commercial Officer, Executive Vice President", 15 July 2026](https://markets.financialcontent.com/prnews.pressre/article/bizwire-2026-7-15-the-trade-desk-appoints-kristi-argyilan-as-chief-commercial-officer-executive-vice-president) 4. [Digiday, "Indie agencies want The Trade Desk and Amazon DSP to acknowledge their buying power with negotiating leverage", 21 October 2026](https://digiday.com/marketing/indie-agencies-want-the-trade-desk-and-amazon-dsp-to-acknowledge-their-buying-power-with-negotiating-leverage/) 5. [The Trade Desk press room, "Netflix Unlocking New Targeting and Measurement Capabilities with The Trade Desk", 20 October 2026](https://www.thetradedesk.com/press-room/netflix-unlocking-new-targeting-and-measurement-capabilities-with-the-trade-desk) 6. [AdExchanger Daily News Roundup, "Introducing The Netflix Pixel; FTC Approves The Publicis-LiveRamp Deal", 21 October 2026](https://www.adexchanger.com/daily-news-roundup/wednesday-21102026/) 7. [TradingNews, "TTD Rips to $13.03 in a Red Market as Value Buyers Target $1.1B Net Cash and a 15% Cost Reset", 15 October 2026](https://www.tradingnews.com/news/ttd-rips-to-13-usd-in-a-red-market-as-value-buyers-target-1b-usd-met-cash-and-a-15-percent-cost-reset) 8. [ad-hoc-news.de, "UBS cuts target for The Trade Desk stock from USD 16 to USD 15", 20 October 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/nebenwerte/ubs-cuts-target-for-the-trade-desk-stock-from-usd-16-to-usd-15/70372775) 9. [AdExchanger, "AdExchanger Names Lauren Wetzel Of WPP And Kristi Argyilan Of The Trade Desk As 2026 Top Women Special Recognition Award Recipients", 13 October 2026](https://www.adexchanger.com/marketers/adexchanger-names-lauren-wetzel-of-wpp-and-kristi-argyilan-of-the-trade-desk-as-2026-top-women-special-recognition-award-recipients/) 10. [SEC EDGAR, The Trade Desk, Inc. Form 8-K (option repricing and special meeting results), filed 20 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1671933/000167193326000108/0001671933-26-000108-index.htm) 11. [The Trade Desk quarterly revenue from its SEC filings, retrieved 21 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001671933) 12. [The Trade Desk, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 21 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001671933) --- Apple blocks The Trade Desk's ad ID in Safari; Netflix and retail data carry a Nov. 5 report guided down 12% — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/apple-blocks-the-trade-desk-s-ad-id-in-safari-netflix-and-retail-data-carry-a-nov-5-report-guided-down-12