--- title: "Apple unblocked The Trade Desk's Safari ads in a beta, and ad tech's answer still has zero releases" description: "Apple marked The Trade Desk's Safari bug resolved on October 9, but its blocklist now updates remotely across hundreds of vendors. IAB Tech Lab's answer, declared \"production ready\", is a repository with zero releases." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Platforms" published: 2026-10-11T15:27:50.738Z modified: 2026-10-11T15:27:50.738Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/apple-unblocked-the-trade-desk-s-safari-ads-in-a-beta-and-ad-tech-s-answer-still-has-zero-releases language: en keywords: "Apple, The Trade Desk, Ad Tech, Privacy, IAB Tech Lab" --- # Apple unblocked The Trade Desk's Safari ads in a beta, and ad tech's answer still has zero releases > Apple marked The Trade Desk's Safari bug resolved on October 9, but its blocklist now updates remotely across hundreds of vendors. IAB Tech Lab's answer, declared "production ready", is a repository with zero releases. ## Two words ended three weeks in the dark At 9:40 pm Pacific on October 9, [Apple](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/apple)'s WebKit privacy lead John Wilander [closed the standoff](https://theinference.org/article/apple-blocked-the-trade-desk-s-ads-then-asked-it-to-test-a-build-that-may-unblock-them) with two words: "Confirmed resolved." [1] [The bug beneath them](https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=324771) had been filed on September 21 by Ian Meyers, a senior engineering director at [The Trade Desk](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/the-trade-desk), priority P1: Safari on iOS 27 was refusing outright to load nine ad tech domains, among them adsrvr.org, the company's core ad request and delivery domain [1]. Google's ad.doubleclick.net kept serving on the same pages [2]. ## One domain fixed, a bigger list still live The iOS 27.2 beta released on October 5 drops adsrvr.org, though the live rollout may take three or four weeks, and the block appears aimed at match.adsrvr.org, the cookie-sync endpoint sharing the domain [3]. The mechanism stays. On October 2, [two sources with direct knowledge](https://www.adexchanger.com/privacy/apple-has-far-reaching-plans-to-block-hundreds-of-programmatic-data-companies-from-ios/) described the nine-name list as scrapped for a remote library of hundreds of ad tech, data and identity companies that Apple devices call on the fly, so a vendor can be blocked without a new iOS release [4]. The list lives in a private repository, and whether Google is on it is unconfirmed [4]. ## Production ready, nothing published That growing list is Anthony Katsur's opening. The IAB Tech Lab chief executive [posted on October 8](https://ppc.land/iab-tech-lab-pushes-trusted-server-after-safari-blocks-the-trade-desk/) that Trusted Server, the standards body's open-source edge runtime, "is production ready TODAY!" [5]. [The repository says otherwise](https://github.com/IABTechLab/trusted-server): 343 commits, 130 branches, zero tags, no published releases, a FAQ_POC.md at the root, and documentation that warns it "may describe unreleased behavior" [6][7]. The Tech Lab's product lead expects the first "production-level tests" of campaigns on publisher servers by early next year [3], and Katsur himself called adoption "a slow mover" on September 30 [5]. ## Who pays and who collects The rebuild runs on software with no version number, and every page and ad request routed through it lands as billable traffic on Fastly, [Cloudflare](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/cloudflare) or Akamai [6][5]. The Trade Desk came in already bleeding, down 24% after hours on August 6 and 575 jobs cut on September 4 [5], and now trades down 68.2% for the year on a 15.0% free-cash-flow yield over $0.8 billion of annual free cash flow, against 4.5% for the median S&P 500 company [8]. *Chart: **Trade Desk Q3 guidance points to the first yearly revenue decline in three years** Line chart of The Trade Desk's quarterly revenue from Q3 2024 through Q2 2026 as reported, with Q3 2026 guidance of at least $650 million marked as an estimate, against a reference line at Q3 2025's $739 million.* *Reported quarterly revenue, USD millions. Final point is management guidance of at least $650M issued in August 2026, marked as an estimate. Sources: The Trade Desk SEC filings; Trefis. [8][10]* KeyBanc sized the block at a low-single-digit annual revenue headwind, and only if it persisted [9]. The domains rlcdn.com, id5-sync.com and permutive.com are still blocked, though Permutive has already rotated to a new domain as a bridge, and [agency buyers report win logs](https://www.adexchanger.com/platforms/how-data-and-ad-tech-vendors-are-preparing-for-the-ios-27-fallout/) showing iOS 27 ads that won auctions and never rendered [3]. ## The bulls have their fact Apple fixed the domain quickly and quietly, while iOS 27's install base was small, and a fast resolution, KeyBanc wrote, is immaterial [9]. What the fix leaves standing is the principle the episode proved. An 11-line WebKit change, merged on February 13, can switch any independent ad vendor off Safari on every iPhone [5]. ## Four dates decide it Watch iOS 27.2's general release, three or four weeks out from the October 5 beta [3]; The Trade Desk's third-quarter print; Trusted Server's first tag; and the first publisher named in production. Apple silenced nine domains with 11 lines of code; the open web's counter, so far, is 343 commits and no version number. ## Takeaway Apple can now switch any ad vendor off Safari without an iOS release, and the industry's declared answer, Trusted Server, still has no released version. ## Sources 1. [WebKit Bugzilla, "Bug 324771: Inclusion of adsrvr.org in IS_REQUEST_UNCONDITIONALLY_BLOCKABLE domain list", filed 21 September 2026, resolved 9 October 2026](https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=324771) 2. [AdExchanger, "Apple's Latest Operating System Blocks The Trade Desk From Serving Ads On Safari", 29 September 2026](https://www.adexchanger.com/platforms/apples-latest-operating-system-blocks-the-trade-desk-from-serving-ads-on-safari/) 3. [AdExchanger, "How Data And Ad Tech Vendors Are Preparing For The iOS 27 Fallout", 8 October 2026](https://www.adexchanger.com/platforms/how-data-and-ad-tech-vendors-are-preparing-for-the-ios-27-fallout/) 4. [AdExchanger, "Apple Has Far-Reaching Plans To Block Hundreds of Programmatic Data Companies From iOS", 2 October 2026](https://www.adexchanger.com/privacy/apple-has-far-reaching-plans-to-block-hundreds-of-programmatic-data-companies-from-ios/) 5. [PPC Land, "IAB Tech Lab pushes Trusted Server after Safari blocks The Trade Desk", 11 October 2026](https://ppc.land/iab-tech-lab-pushes-trusted-server-after-safari-blocks-the-trade-desk/) 6. [GitHub, IABTechLab/trusted-server repository, 343 commits, 130 branches and no published releases, accessed 11 October 2026](https://github.com/IABTechLab/trusted-server) 7. [IAB Tech Lab, Trusted Server documentation, "Rolling main documentation", accessed 11 October 2026](https://iabtechlab.github.io/trusted-server/) 8. [Trefis, "Should You Buy The Trade Desk Stock For Its Cash?", 8 October 2026](https://www.trefis.com/stock/ttd/articles/617934/should-you-buy-the-trade-desk-stock-for-its-cash/2026-10-08) 9. [StreetInsider, "Apple's iOS 27 is blocking Trade Desk ads on Safari, analyst says", citing KeyBanc, 30 September 2026](https://www.streetinsider.com/General+News/Apples+iOS+27+is+blocking+Trade+Desk+ads+on+Safari%2C+analyst+says/27124361.html) 10. [The Trade Desk, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 11 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001671933) --- Apple unblocked The Trade Desk's Safari ads in a beta, and ad tech's answer still has zero releases — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/apple-unblocked-the-trade-desk-s-safari-ads-in-a-beta-and-ad-tech-s-answer-still-has-zero-releases