Published on November 22, 2023, last updated May 2, 2024
Background
Earlier in 2023, Google Ad Manager shared an update on the privacy and data solutions that we are working on to build trust, create value and activate first-party data. Today, we'd like to share more details on Privacy Sandbox testing plans for January 2024.
As part of Google's commitments to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Google's ads platforms, including Google Ad Manager, are working under the supervision of the CMA to design and conduct experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of the Privacy Sandbox APIs and other privacy-preserving signals supporting key online advertising use cases without third-party cookies.
As part of Chrome-facilitated testing, Chrome is providing two testing modes that allow sites to preview how site behavior and functionality works without third-party cookies.
- Mode A: In Q4 2023, AdTech providers testing Privacy Sandbox can opt in to receive consistent labels on a subset of Chrome browsers. Google Ad Manager has been actively testing in this mode.
- Mode B: In Q1 2024, Chrome will globally disable third-party cookies on 1% of Chrome traffic. Using Mode B, Google Ad Manager will be running a test to evaluate the impact of third-party cookie deprecation and will be reporting results to the CMA in Q2 2024.
Both modes will continue through to at least Q2 2024. Also, when third-party cookies are disabled in Mode B (for 1% of Chrome traffic), they will remain disabled through the full phase out of third-party cookies.
The primary goal of Mode B testing is to quantitatively understand the impact of third-party cookie deprecation, and the effectiveness of the Privacy Sandbox technologies.
Testing design
In the Mode B test set up, traffic is divided into three groups, as recommended by the CMA.
- Control 1: Status quo baseline (with third-party cookies where available)
- Control 2: No third-party cookies, without Privacy Sandbox APIs, with other mitigations such as publisher first-party data and identifiers
- Treatment: No third-party cookies with the Privacy Sandbox APIs, with other mitigations such as publisher first-party data and identifiers
The table below highlights Google Ad Manager's plans for both mode A and mode B:
|
Mode |
Label names (as provided by Chrome) |
Chrome's treatment |
Google Ad Manager's treatment* |
|---|---|---|---|
|
B |
|
[Third‑party Cookies] Disabled [Topics] Disabled [Protected Audience] Disabled |
[Topics] Not Available [Protected Audience] Not Available |
|
B |
|
[Third‑party Cookies] Disabled [Topics] Available [Protected Audience] Available |
[Topics] Available shared on eligible bid requests [Protected Audience] Available will run on eligible inventory (not subject to traffic sampling) Due to a technical issue, no treatment traffic was enabled for Protected Audience between 2024-04-21 06:30 UTC until 2024-04-22 07:50 UTC. |
|
A |
|
[Third‑party Cookies] Available [Topics] Available [Protected Audience] Available |
[Topics] Not Available [Protected Audience] Not Available |
|
A |
|
[Third‑party Cookies] Available [Topics] Available [Protected Audience] Available |
[Topics] Available shared on eligible bid requests [Protected Audience] Not Available |
|
A |
|
[Third‑party Cookies] Available [Topics] Available [Protected Audience] Available |
[Topics] Available shared on eligible bid requests [Protected Audience] Available will run on eligible inventory (not subject to traffic sampling) |
|
N/A |
None |
[Third‑party Cookies] Available [Topics] Available [Protected Audience] Available |
[Topics] Available shared on eligible bid requests [Protected Audience] Limited Availability (auctions will run on limited % of traffic) |
*Subject to change with updated guidance from Chrome, the CMA, and/or partner feedback
Please note for Mode B traffic, which is 1% of Chrome traffic, since there will be no third-party cookie available it will impact any functionality that currently relies on third-party cookies, such as audience targeting in reservation line items for third-party cookie based audiences.
Frequently asked questions
- What should be expected from the testing results?
- Is there any publisher action needed as part of this testing?
- Can publishers opt out of this testing?
- Can publishers use reporting in the Ad Manager UI to see the results of the Chrome facilitated testing?
What should be expected from the testing results?
The test will help us evaluate the effectiveness of the Privacy Sandbox relevant APIs, and share our findings with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, Chrome, and the industry. We anticipate that the results of this test will be shared with the CMA in Q2 2024.
We expect the results from this testing to be an early indicator of the expected performance without third-party cookies. We would consider this a baseline, since we expect the performance to improve with increased adoption, optimization, and coverage for Privacy Sandbox and other privacy-centric technologies as the ecosystem prepares for third-party cookie deprecation.
Is there any publisher action needed as part of this testing?
No publisher action is needed as part of this testing. Google Ad Manager is working directly with Chrome, participating SSPs and DSPs, and the CMA to conduct the test.
Can publishers opt out of this testing?
Publishers have the ability to opt out of Google Ad Manager's use of the Privacy Sandbox APIs following the instructions here for Topics and here for Protected Audience. However, publishers cannot opt out of Chrome-facilitated testing for advertising use cases.
Can publishers use reporting in the Ad Manager UI to see the results of the Chrome facilitated testing?
The reporting in Ad Manager does not support a dimension for Chrome testing labels. However, publishers could read the labels directly from Chrome (see Chrome documentation for details), pass them as key-values in ad requests to Ad Manager, and use key-value reporting to report on the labels.
(Published on May 19, 2023) API updates: Topics, Protected Audience, Attribution ReportingWe're pleased to see the continued progress from Chrome as the Privacy Sandbox APIs are critical, privacy-preserving alternatives to third-party cookies. Ad Manager has been testing these technologies in an effort to provide our partners with the tools they need to create successful ad-supported businesses. As Chrome makes the Privacy Sandbox APIs generally available, Ad Manager will continue its own investment in supporting these technologies.
The Topics API
Chrome has stated that it will begin making the Topics API generally available to all Chrome users starting in July. Ad Manager will begin including Topics data on Chrome traffic wherever possible. In doing so, we will continue our evaluation of the API and its utility for our partners.
The Protected Audience API (formerly known as FLEDGE)
Once the Protected Audience API is generally available, Ad Manager will begin gradually increasing the amount of traffic included in its testing. We will monitor the impact to publisher revenue as we slowly increase the percentage of traffic.
Attribution Reporting API
Ad Manager is supporting the Attribution Reporting API as part of its commitment to invest in privacy-preserving alternatives for measurement. By ensuring that conversion actions are successfully attributed to our partners' properties, we're allowing advertisers to better understand performance and find value in publisher inventory. There is no action for publishers to take at this time.
Ahead of Chrome's General Availability launch of these technologies, Ad Manager will introduce new features to provide publishers with additional insight and control, including in-UI opt-outs. We'll share more on these features and our testing ramp-up plans in the coming weeks.
As always, publishers have the ability to opt out of these APIs at any time via the Chrome permission policy: Topics API, Protected Audience API, Attribution Reporting API.
Google Ad Manager's goal is to give publishers the tools they need to create successful advertising-supported businesses. Given the rapidly evolving privacy and regulatory landscape, we've been experimenting with new ways to help our publishing partners continue to deliver relevant ads in more privacy friendly ways.
Along with other ad tech companies, Ad Manager has begun experimenting with the Privacy Sandbox for Web. This initiative led by Chrome is designed to introduce alternative privacy-preserving browser technologies to support key use cases. For personalized ads, we've been focused on implementing two of the Privacy Sandbox APIs: Topics and Protected Audience API (formerly known as FLEDGE).
So far, early Ad Manager testing of Topics and Protected Audience APIs is promising, but we'd recommend improvements to maximize the utility of these technologies. We're providing feedback on ways to make these APIs more effective, and we encourage others in the ad tech community to offer their suggestions as well.
Topics shows promise with opportunities for improvements
Topics surface interest categories based on recent browse history, without needing to track the sites the user visits. Buyers can use Topics in combination with other signals to help support interest based advertising (more details here).
When Topics are available, Ad Manager tags will retrieve and pass them in bid requests to advertisers. Publishers don't need to do anything explicitly to be a part of Topics testing. But if desired, they can choose to opt out of Topics by following the steps outlined here.
Starting in August 2022, Ad Manager began sending Topics in bid requests to all interested buy-side partners (Google Ads, Display & Video 360, Authorized Buyers, and Open Bidders) on a small percentage of traffic. Testing has validated that Ad Manager's systems are operating as expected, and our infrastructure is able to read and pass Topics successfully. Please refer to the Help Center for more details.
As Chrome ramps up traffic with Topics and our buy-side partners confirm that Topics are being used in ad selection, we will begin to evaluate performance with our buy-side partners.
Based on our testing, we believe a few improvements could increase the relevancy and utility of Topics for interest-based advertising. For example, giving buyers access to advertiser-related Topics could help improve coverage and the commercial relevance of the topics returned. Also, the Chrome team has already confirmed plans to update how Topics are retrieved, which could decrease latency and classifications.
Protected Audience API testing is ramping up, with more to come in 2023
The Protected Audience APIenables a new privacy-preserving approach to remarketing and custom audience use cases by holding ad auctions on visitors' devices, without exposing their browser activity across sites (more details). SSPs play a key role in the Protected Audience API workflow by making inventory available to buyers, providing logic for on-device auctions. For more details on Ad Manager's integration with the Protected Audience API, please refer to the Help Center. Publishers can opt out of Chrome's Protected Audience API testing, using Chrome's Permissions-Policy.
As the Protected Audience API is a new technology, Ad Manager is taking an iterative approach to testing, serving ads to only a small percentage of publisher traffic to minimize impact on revenue and performance. Below are the stages of Ad Manager's Protected Audience API testing:
- Infrastructure testing: During the first stage of testing, completed in May 2022, we ensured the back-end infrastructure worked as intended. No ads were served via the Protected Audience API during this phase.
- Ad serving testing: After making sure the system worked, we then began serving Protected Audience API ads on a small percent of traffic as part of our testing with a number of buy-side partners, including Amazon Ads, Criteo, Google Ads, and RTB House. Currently, Ad Manager is testing the Protected Audience API on millions of ad requests each day and actively integrating with interested demand-side platforms. In the future, Ad Manager is looking to test the Protected Audience API with more buyers.
- Performance testing: As Chrome ramps up traffic with the Protected Audience API, Ad Manager plans to ramp up the testing traffic and evaluate performance. Ad Manager will also include new aspects of the Protected Audience API as they become available in the browser and will continue to iterate and optimize for publisher performance.
Based on our testing, we're providing feedback on possible improvements, such as innovative ways to reduce latency and provide reporting on resource consumption, which could increase the usefulness of the Protected Audience API for publishers and advertisers.
Toward a more privacy-friendly, ad-supported web
Topics and the Protected Audience API both show great potential as new tools to support a more privacy-centric approach to personalized ads. Looking ahead, Ad Manager will continue to evaluate Privacy Sandbox technologies, and design and implement features to help publishers use these solutions. We encourage members of the advertising community to join us in testing and refine these initiatives in 2023.
