Google is testing a new API that uses interest groups to replace cookie-based tracking for audiences and remarketing.
FLEDGE is the Privacy Sandbox’s take on remarketing and audiences, and is designed to prevent third-party tracking of users’ browsing behavior. Google will begin testing the API in AdSense accounts on August 28.
What is the FLEDGE API?
FLEDGE is the first experiment to be implemented in Chromium (Google’s open source web browser). The Privacy Sandbox timeline provides implementation timing information for FLEDGE, enabling in-browser auctions to choose relevant ads based on sites a user has previously visited.
Google explains that when a user visits an advertiser's tunisia whatsapp data page, an interest group owner (such as a DPS) may prompt that user's browser to add a membership to that group.
The owner performs a JavaScript function – joinAdInterestGroup() – and if successful, that function logs:
the name of the interest group: for example, “running shoes”;
the owner of the interest group: for example a sporting goods website;
Configuration information: This allows the group owner to view the bidding code, ad code, and real-time data. This information is important for the advertiser to gain more intelligence in their actions.
The ad space seller can then use the FLEDGE API to auction ads and select the most appropriate one to display to the user based on their previous visits.
The bidding code is only executed for interest groups that the browser is a member of and whose owners have been invited to bid, as it is retrieved from the URL provided in the interest group configuration information.
It is also possible to create a report with the auction results, the seller's code can include a reportResult() function and each buyer's code can include a reportWin() function. This way, the results will be recorded and can serve as a guide for the next actions.
Start of Tests and Impacts
FLEDGE testing on Google AdSense will begin on August 28. Google does not anticipate any revenue changes or performance impacts “at this time.”
The search engine also says it will continue to update the settings available in Chrome as FLEDGE demands, but users can already adjust their participation in Privacy Sandbox reviews in Chrome by enabling or disabling the top-level setting at chrome://settings/privacySandbox.
The aim is for users to see and manage the list of interest groups they have been added to on the websites they have visited, in this way, Chrome guarantees autonomy and privacy to users.
You can still block access to the FLEDGE API, either as a site owner or as an individual user, for this check out the FLEDGE API developer guide.
Why use FLEDGE?
According to Google:
“The FLEDGE experiment aims to bring the web platform closer to a state where the user’s browser, on their device – not the advertiser or adtech platforms – contains information about what that person is interested in.”
Understanding user interest and using this to offer a more complete experience is Google's goal in its new alternatives aimed at the era without third-party cookies.
With FLEDGE, advertisers will be able to display their ads in a way that is relevant to the user based on their interests, not just based on the content of the website or using information from third parties.
As users create their interest lists, remarketing campaigns created from FLEDGE will become more assertive and will present better results for advertisers.