Safari click ID removal: recover attribution with server-side tracking

The upcoming Safari update, scheduled for release in September 2025, is expected to bring a notable change for digital marketers: the removal of GCLID (Google Click Identifier) parameters  and other click identifiers from URLs in standard browsing mode. While the current beta version does not strip GCLID in regular sessions (only in Safari Private Mode), the official release is anticipated to extend this restriction more broadly.

We have conducted an investigation into which parameters will be impacted by the upcoming changes. The table below highlights, in orange, the parameters affected by Safari’s changes:

Further in this article, we’ll guide you through the steps of how to prepare your Google Ads setup. As for Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft, please be aware that there’s no available solution yet. 

But we will update this article right away once we find it :)

GCLID is the foundation of accurate conversion attribution in Google Ads. If Safari removes it from users’ URLs, conversions may go untracked – resulting in lost data, incomplete reports, and less effective campaign optimization.

Without the GCLID, linking a website conversion to a specific ad click becomes nearly impossible. This can lead to:

There are two ways to handle Safari’s upcoming changes: client-side or server-side.

Client-side solutions are technically possible, but they come with certain drawbacks. You’d need to manually set a GCLID cookie for each user, constantly monitor it, and update it whenever Google changes the cookie’s name or format. Since these updates aren’t announced or documented, this approach can quickly become unreliable and time-consuming.

Server-side tracking is the safer and smarter choice. With this method, your GA4 setup (at least the page_view event) and Conversion Linker on sGTM handle everything automatically. The native Conversion Linker sets the GCLID cookie correctly, even if Google updates its format or name – so you don’t have to worry about manual fixes or missed conversions. 

By switching to server-side, you ensure that your Google Ads conversions are tracked accurately, your reports stay reliable, and you maintain full visibility of your campaigns – even for users browsing Safari.

In our blog, you can find detailed step-by-step instructions on how to set up:

The first step is to configure an additional custom parameter to serve as a backup for the original GCLID, in case Safari restrictions delete the original parameter.

1. Go to your Google Ads account → Admin → Tracking tab.

In this tab you will see a list of parameters that are added to the user's URL when they click on your ad and land on the site.

2. In the Final URL suffix field, add a custom backup parameter with the value set to {gclid}.

Here is an example of how this can be implemented:

This example uses qwerty as the backup parameter. You can use a parameter name you are comfortable with. The most important thing you should consider is that the value of this parameter must be ={gclid}.

As a result of these steps, every user who lands on the site will have two URL parameters containing the GCLID value:

If Safari removes the gclid parameter, the user will automatically fall back to your custom query parameter.

The second step is to configure your Query Replacer variable so that it can use the backup parameter if the original GCLID has been removed.

Query Replacer is a straightforward variable that replaces a specified query parameter with another in the page_location.

You can find this variable in the Template Gallery in your sGTM container.

1. Go to sGTM → Variables → New → Template Gallery → search for Query Replacer → Add to workspace.

Once the template is added, we can proceed with creating the variable. In the settings, specify your custom parameter configured in Google Ads and the value you want it to replace.

2. Create a new variable with:

Click “Save”.

The main purpose of this tag is to replace your backup parameter qwerty with the native gclid parameter, since the Сonversion Linker can only set cookies using native parameters.

This transformation will be applied to the page_location parameter (GA4 default parameter). Its main purpose is to provide the Conversion Linker with a GCLID value, which it can then use to set the cookie correctly.

You can manually add parameters to the URL for debugging. The most important ones are the native gclid parameter and your backup parameter that you specified in Google Ads.

Here's an example of a test URL:

4.1. Safari’s default browse mode

In the current beta version of Safari v26, the gclid is not removed by default, so FPGCLAW is set without any issues.

⚠️ Note: This behavior may change in the official release version of Safari.

4.2. Safari’s private mode

The following test should be performed in Safari’s Private Mode.

Currently, Safari’s private mode removes the gclid parameter from the URL. However, as shown in the screenshot below, the FPGCLAW cookie is still set because our backup parameter qwerty automatically replaced the removed gclid.

If you see that the gclid parameter has been removed from the URL, but the FPGCLAW cookie is set correctly, this indicates that you have followed all the steps properly and your tracking is now secure.

The upcoming Safari update will significantly impact you, especially if a large portion of your users browse with Safari. Without a solution like this, you risk losing most of your Google Ads conversions.

We recommend using our server-side solution to bypass these restrictions. It’s easy to set up and reliable, as it still uses the native Conversion Linker, ensuring your setup continues to work even if Google introduces unexpected updates.