Protected Audience API and Ad Manager

Up to 10% of Chrome traffic is enabled for Protected Audience API testing.

Ad Manager is conducting functional testing of Bidding and Auction services and may run small (<0.1%) experiments executing Protected Audience auctions through Bidding and Auction services.

Note: Beginning October 2024, Ad Manager will begin functional testing of serving instream video ads using Protected Audience API through the IMA SDK. This functional testing will be done on low traffic volumes and all features will be supported. Learn more.

 Jump to: Overview | Ad serving | Publisher controls | Reporting | Allow testing | Opting out

What is the Protected Audience API?

The Privacy Sandbox initiative aims to create web technologies that both preserve people's privacy online and give companies and developers the tools to build thriving digital businesses, which keeps the web open and accessible to everyone. The Privacy Sandbox is an ongoing initiative that combines ideas from across the industry into new proposals that are tested, commented on, and iterated.

One of the Privacy Sandbox proposals is called the Protected Audience API (formerly known as FLEDGE). The Protected Audience API proposes new privacy-preserving ways to power remarketing and custom audience solutions so advertisers can re-engage with site visitors.

With the Protected Audience API, a user's browser stores advertiser-defined interest groups that it is associated with and hosts on-device auctions to show ads. Similar to how interest groups work today, the Protected Audience API will help marketers do things like showcase different product categories, appeal to visitors who didn't convert, and re-engage visitors who abandoned shopping carts. Unlike today, however, user information won't be collected and shared to many companies by third-party cookies.

How Ad Manager serves ads with the Protected Audience API

When a user visits an advertiser's website, the website (or an ad tech provider embedded on the website) can ask the user's browser to associate the user with a specific interest group. The user's browser then periodically fetches information about potential ads which could be shown to the user for each interest group, including information from advertisers.

Later, when a publisher wants to serve an ad to the user, an ad request is sent to Ad Manager. This request contains the same information that ad requests do today, but does not contain any information about the Protected Audience API interest groups.

Ad Manager then runs a server-side auction to select the best non-interest group ad. Note that publisher pricing rules and protections apply as usual during the server-side auction. Following the server-side auction, Ad Manager returns the best non-interest group ad to the browser as well as information about publisher controls to apply in the on-device auction.

Finally, the browser runs an on-device auction between all interest group ad candidates and the best non-interest group ad. The winning ad is then rendered.

All of a publisher's existing demand (Ad Exchange, Open Bidding, guaranteed line items, and remnant line items) will continue to participate in the server-side auction, as it does today.

Due to current infrastructure limitations, Ad Manager is currently only able to run Protected Audience auctions for ad requests that are targeted by an active Ad Exchange line item, yield group, or AdSense line item, or that are for an ad unit enabled for AdSense.

Note that Ad Manager does not require that publishers use programmatic demand from Ad Manager in Protected Audience auctions. We're working to address these infrastructure limitations in 2024. Please see this FAQ for more details.

Publisher controls and the Protected Audience API

With the Protected Audience API, an ad auction runs on the browser, which means publisher controls (pricing rules and protections) are applied on the browser. Because of this, Ad Manager has modified how some publisher controls apply during the on-device auction in order to prevent potentially sensitive publisher data from being exposed in the browser.

For interest group ads in on-device Protected Audience API auctions:

• Most publisher controls will continue to apply as they do today 
• Some publisher controls will apply, but in a different or restricted form 

All regulatory restrictions and consent controls will continue to be honored in the Protected Audience API.

The following controls apply in a different or restricted form to interest group:

• Pricing for sensitive categories
  If there is a floor price for any sensitive category, it will be applied to ads from all sensitive categories. For example, if a publisher set a floor of $2 for dating ads, then all ads from any sensitive category will be subject to at least a $2 floor.
• Pricing rules with pricing options only for video creative types 
  Does not apply during functional testing of serving instream video ads using Protected Audience API through the IMA SDK
• Pricing with with video pricing options (skippability and duration)
  Does not apply during functional testing of serving instream video ads using Protected Audience API through the IMA SDK

Ad Manager hashes advertiser-related controls to reduce the information exposure risk. These include advertiser/brand blocks, advertiser URL blocks, pricing for advertisers/brands, and competitive exclusions. Ad Manager also applies buyer blocks server side where possible for the same reason. However, should you wish to disable the application of those controls to interest group ads in the on-device auction, you can do so under Network settings.

1. Sign in to Google Ad Manager.
2. Click Admin, then Global settings.
   The "Network settings" tab is selected by default.

3. Under "Ad preference settings," turn off Apply advertiser and buyer protections and pricing rules in the on-device auction.

   This option is only available if "Protected Audience API" is turned on.
4. Click Save.

Reporting

To report on impressions served through the Protected Audience API, select the "Protected audience API delivery" dimension under the "Historical" report type.

Until May 2nd 2024, Active View measurement was not supported for ads from Authorized Buyers delivered by the Protected Audience API.

Allow testing on all inventory with non-Google sellers

By default, to ensure that testing does not negatively impact your revenue, Ad Manager may not run a Protected Audience auction on all ad requests. You can choose to override that decision and allow for testing on up to 100% of your inventory with non-Google sellers.

An override on any amount of inventory may lead to lower revenue.

You should also be aware that even with setting enabled, Ad Manager will continue to disable Protected Audience API on traffic where Chrome provided labels are any of control_1.1, control_1.2, control_1.3, or control_1.4 as that traffic is used as a baseline for understanding Protected Audience performance.

1. Sign in to Google Ad Manager.
2. Click Admin, then Global settings.
   The "Network settings" tab is selected by default.
3. Under "Ad preference settings," turn on Allow testing on up to 100% of my inventory with non-Google sellers, regardless of performance impact.
4. Click Save.

Opting out of the Protected Audience API

You can disable Ad Manager's use of the Protected Audience API in network settings, though we recommend keeping it enabled to ensure your site(s) have access to the demand associated with these custom audiences.

1. Sign in to Google Ad Manager.
2. Click Admin, then Global settings.
   The "Network settings" tab is selected by default.
3. Under "Ad preference settings," turn off Protected Audience API.
4. Click Save.

You can also disable the API on your site entirely through Chrome's Permissions-Policy.

Additional considerations

Consider the additional information when working with the Protected Audience API.

Served interest group ad functionality

All interest group ads served through the Protected Audience API will open in a new tab or window when the ad is clicked. This occurs even if the Target window for the network or ad unit is set to _top.

Instream video ads functional testing limitations

Limitations apply during the initial functional testing of serving instream video ads Protected Audience API through the IMA SDK. These limitations include:

• Pricing rules with pricing options for only video creative formats will not apply
• Pricing rules with video pricing options (skippability and duration) will not apply 
• Viewability measurement will not be supported. This means that ads will show as 100% measurable but 0% viewable. 
  Use the “inventory types (expanded)” dimension to exclude in-stream video to avoid this limitation affecting non-instream video reporting.