Well, this is awkward.
According to a juicy report from AdExchanger, The Trade Desk can’t currently serve ads in Safari for Apple users who’ve downloaded iOS 27. There’s a little more to it, but that’s the gist: Apple’s latest privacy update added a key TTD domain to its blocklist, preventing the DSP’s ad requests from going through.
Why This Matters:
Check out the AdExchanger article for the deep dive. In short, Apple expanded its blocklist to restrict cross-site tracking and included adsrvr.org, the domain The Trade Desk uses to request and deliver ads.
That’s obviously a problem for TTD. It effectively cuts the company off from Safari inventory on updated iOS devices until the issue is resolved. It’s also fascinating to watch TTD publicly press Apple for answers through a WebKit bug report on GitHub, where Apple has acknowledged the issue but hasn’t yet provided a resolution.
Experts React:
The experts are experting. Here are some of the more interesting reactions from the adtech community regarding the news on X:
Our Take:
Man, when it rains, it pours.
Last week, TTD was officially dropped from the S&P 500 following a difficult year for the company’s stock. Now, it’s dealing with a problem largely outside its control.
There’s also some irony in the timing. Google avoided the adtech breakup many hoped for, but still walked away from its antitrust case with meaningful restrictions on how its ad business operates. You’d think that might create an opening for independent players like The Trade Desk. Instead, TTD is getting a reminder that Google isn’t the only tech giant with enormous influence over how digital advertising works.
(Where’s the adtech antitrust case against Apple, by the way?)
