Digital advertising is changing really fast right now. Finding cookie-free targeting options is super urgent. A 2023 study from SEMrush found a key fact. 70% of ad tech companies want replacements for third-party cookies. Two leading options for this exist right now. One is called UID2, and the other is Turtledove. UID2 is an open-source framework that uses encrypted data. It can make targeting accuracy up to 40% higher. Turtledove is a technical framework focused on keeping data private. It only shares the smallest amount of data necessary. This guide serves two main helpful purposes. It compares top quality advertising solutions to fake copies. It also comes with a free installation and best price guarantee.

UID2

Third-party cookies are slowly being phased out online. A 2023 SEMrush study looked at what ad companies are doing. It found 70% of digital ad firms are searching for alternatives. UID2 is one of the most popular of these options.

Definition

Open – source identity framework for digital advertising

UID2 is an open-source tool made just for online advertising. It changes how ad space is bought, sold, and matched to viewers. It acts like a standard currency for the online ad world. For example, a big online shopping company can use UID2. It can find and reach potential customers across different digital platforms. This makes all of its marketing efforts much more effective. Advertisers should look for open-source platforms that support UID2. This will help their ad campaigns work as well as possible.

Replaces third – party cookies, prioritizes user privacy

UID2 is a tool built to fix two common online problems. More and more people are worried about their internet privacy these days. Third-party cookies are also slowly being phased out entirely. The whole UID2 system is designed with privacy as a top priority. It uses encrypted phone numbers and email addresses to work. Advertisers can target specific users without sharing private sensitive info. For example, a news publisher can use UID2 to show relevant ads without knowing who its readers really are. This is just like serving ads based on interests a user picks themselves. Platforms that add UID2 smoothly work the best overall. They let advertisers run ads that follow all official privacy rules.

How it works

Uses encrypted and anonymized email or phone numbers

UID2 makes a unique user ID from encrypted phone numbers or emails. It keeps all data safe and respects every user’s privacy. It uses encrypted data to figure out what site users are interested in. It never shares any personal information when it does this. For example, a mobile app developer can use UID2 to target ads to users. These ads are based on people’s fully anonymous phone numbers. This gives users a better experience while still protecting their privacy. To keep security as strong as possible, make sure your data encryption is updated when you use UID2.

Data sources for targeting accuracy

UID2 lets you target users super accurately thanks to encrypted data. This encrypted data comes from phone numbers and emails. It’s reliable enough to build detailed user profiles. A recent Google study found targeting accuracy can jump by as much as 40% when using these data sources. For example, an online fashion retailer can use UID2 data. They can study user behavior and send targeted promotional emails. Tools like Moat recommend checking UID2-related data regularly. Doing this will make sure you get high-quality targeting results.

Key differences from Turtledove

UID2 and Turtledove are two very different ad targeting tools. UID2 works without using common tracking cookies. It uses coded, unreadable data to confirm user identities. Turtledove serves ads matched to online behavior using a standard set of digital rules. It focuses mostly on browser-based interest and context targeting. UID2 works well for car industry advertisers. It stores coded records of past car searches to target users. Turtledove targets users based on the interest groups their browser joins. The key takeaways.

• UID2 is an openly shared system built for online ads. It cares most about keeping people’s private information safe. It replaces the tracking cookies that outside companies use.
• Targeting work uses common contact details like phone numbers and email addresses. These details are treated one of two ways before they are used. Some are coded so most people can’t read them. Others are stripped of all personal identifying details.
• UID2 uses data from a bunch of different sources. This data is really accurate for targeting the exact groups you want to reach.
• Turtledove works differently when finding and targeting specific groups. We have a tool that compares different identity solutions. Use it to see how UID2 stacks up against other no-cookie targeting options.

Turtledove

Privacy issues are growing more common all the time. Third-party cookies are being phased out of use right now. The digital advertising world is constantly changing these days. A proposal called TURTLEDOVE is gaining a lot of attention. Industry trends from the past few years give us a clear picture. More than 60% of ad tech companies are exploring new ways to adjust. TURTLEDOVE is one of the solutions these groups are testing out.

General capabilities and features

Main concept and overall purpose

TURTLEDOVE is an acronym for a long technical phrase. It stands for Two Uncorrelated Requests and then Locally-Executed Decision on Success. It is a standard set of online tools for ad targeting. It lets advertisers show you ads you might care about. It also limits how much of your personal data advertisers can access. Many people think it is the future of online advertising. That is because more and more people care about protecting their online privacy. For example, a news site can show you ads matching sites you have visited before. It does this right on your browser, no extra personal data gets shared. People who work in marketing should follow TURTLEDOVE updates closely. It could completely change how ads are targeted to people online. It will also help companies follow official privacy laws the right way. Industry experts say watching W3C discussions about TURTLEDOVE is useful. Those discussions can give you really helpful, practical insights. Google is currently the biggest company making online ad products. If this system gets put into wide use, it will impact the entire digital ad industry.

Specific features for ad – related operations

TURTLEDOVE has two really interesting features. One is its ad bidding system, the other is its targeting tools. There are three key areas worth testing first. These are picking interest groups, adding signals to page context and interest group bid requests, and running bid algorithms. For example, an e-commerce advertiser can make custom interest groups. They can base these groups on users who looked at a certain type of product. Browsers can pair context details with interest group requests. They do a quick first step right when a page loads. First, the browser sends its own put-together interest group request. Next, it runs an internal auction for all the responses it gets. Then it only sends the highest bid from that auction along. Here’s a useful ad tip for this system. If you want to be ready for a TURTLEDOVE-based ad setup, start testing now. Try out different ways to pick and build your interest groups. The best solutions work well for both bidding and targeting. They also make sure user privacy stays protected the whole time.

Privacy – enhancing proposals

TURTLEDOVE is a big win for personal privacy online. If TURTLEDOVE is turned on, advertisers can’t target certain Google ad users. Those users have a specific ID called UID2. A digital marketing firm ran a study on ad behavior. It found people were 30% more likely to engage with ads when privacy was a top priority. FLEDGE is the first version of TURTLEDOVE. It’s a technical test that lets brands run follow-up ads without using cookies. Google is trying to balance useful ads and industry privacy worries. Quick tip for publishers: use solutions built on FLEDGE for your site. That will give your users a more private ad experience. Try our ad privacy simulation tool to test changes. It will show you how TURTLEDOVE and its related plans can affect your ad campaigns. Here are the key takeaways.

• TURTLEDOVE is a set of ready-to-use digital tools. These tools help target people based on their online habits. The whole system only shares a tiny amount of data when it runs. It never passes extra information between different groups of people.
• There’s new technology made for running auctions. It has lots of different ways to bid and reach specific groups. You can bid right from inside your internet browser. You can also put together groups of people with shared interests. You can even run full auctions directly through your browser too.
• FLEDGE is a special privacy-focused feature. It keeps people’s personal data safe. It also lets online advertising work like it’s supposed to.

FAQ

What is cohort – based targeting in the context of UID2 and Turtledove?

Cohort-based targeting is a way to group users with similar traits or habits. UID2 lets people build these groups using encrypted user data. This data can be email addresses or phone numbers, for example. This method lets you target audiences very precisely. Turtledove builds these groups using browser-based interest and context data. These two approaches use different data sources and targeting methods. We explain all their differences in “Key Differences from Turtledove”. Standard industry methods work by analyzing user data first. This analysis helps teams build effective cohorts.

How to implement UID2 for first – party data activation?

There are standard industry steps to set up UID2 for using your own user data. First, make sure your encryption tools are fully up to date. Next, add UID2 to the advertising platform you use. Then use encrypted or anonymous phone numbers and emails to make user IDs. You can build accurate user profiles with detailed user info. This process needs reliable professional tools to work well. Those tools include trusted data encryption software, or ad platforms that work with UID2.

How to prepare for a Turtledove – based advertising environment?

Marketers need a few key steps to get ready for the Turtledove ad system. First, follow all Turtledove and W3C discussions closely. Next, test different ways to group user interests for ads. Then, start using solutions built around FLEDGE. These steps help advertisers use Turtledove’s privacy-focused ad targeting better. All these steps are detailed in the “General Capabilities and Features” section of our analysis. They will also make all ad-related work run more smoothly.

UID2 vs Turtledove: Which is better for privacy – compliant advertising?

Turtledove and UID2 both put user privacy first, but they use very different methods to do it. UID2 protects user data using scrambled phone and email numbers. It uses these coded numbers to confirm who a user is. Turtledove is a tool that limits what data advertisers get. It targets ads using browser activity and shared interest groups. Unlike Turtledove, UID2 ties identity to specific coded user data. Choosing between them depends on clinical trial results and ad campaign needs. Your final results can vary based on how you set the system up. They also depend on what kind of data you use for the campaign.