New advertising initiative aims to evade ad blockers: IAB's Trusted Server
12 hours ago
- #advertising
- #privacy
- #ad-blocking
- The International Advertising Bureau (IAB) introduced Trusted Server, an open-source initiative to bypass ad blockers and minimize revenue loss.
- Trusted Server shifts ad tech operations to a controlled server environment, aiming to comply with user consent and improve transparency.
- AdGuard views Trusted Server as an attempt to rebuild tracking infrastructure under a new name, keeping ads visible and tracking intact.
- Trusted Server consolidates ad serving logic on the server side, improving performance but centralizing data collection and reducing user visibility.
- Benefits of Trusted Server include faster page loads, reduced fingerprinting risks, and better security by cutting out third-party code.
- Privacy concerns arise as Trusted Server relies on fingerprinting to build a 'Synthetic ID' based on stable data points, potentially creating shadow profiles.
- Trusted Server makes ads harder to block by serving them from first-party domains, disguising tracking and ad delivery as native website functionality.
- Ad blockers may need to evolve with machine learning-based detection to analyze ads' visual and behavioral traits regardless of how they are loaded.