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For those who are referencing tracking pixels and say this isn't anything new, it's important to understand that this is the next evolution of that technology a

For those who are referencing tracking pixels and say this isn't anything new, it's important to understand that this is the next evolution of that technology as a result of government regulations around privacy and browser/OS ecosystem changes from Google, Apple, and Mozilla. This data transfer won't occur at the browser layer for much longer - it won't be as technically feasible without cookies and it may not be legal given consent/opt-out requirements. Instead the data will pass directly from the advertiser's server to the ad platform's server. Of course this tech has existed for a long time - it's a basic API call - but it hasn't been widely adopted in the ad tech industry, while millions of websites are using tracking pixels. It is not a 1:1 replacement for tracking pixels and lacks some of those creepy features (you're unlikely to get tagged if you simply browse a website without giving up any personal info), but it offers new ones as well (the ability to send arbitrary data to an ad platform).

yjftsjthsd-h 5y ago
> and it may not be legal given consent/opt-out requirements. It would be a remarkably narrow law that made it illegal to do something client-side but not server-side. AFAIK it's usually about what data you collect and how you use it, not precise details about how it was collected and stored along the way.
- marketingtech 5y ago
  The laws are around consent and the ability to revoke it, which can vary by the continent/country/state/city you're in as well as some other characteristics that may not be known at the time that the client-side code would execute. Server-side allows businesses to defer the data transfer until it's known whether specific consent is granted or revoked. It also allows you to more easily keep a record of the data shared with other parties in the event that a user withdraws prior consent or invokes a right to be forgotten. You then have the ability to tell your partners to also delete those data points.

yjftsjthsd-h 5y ago

> and it may not be legal given consent/opt-out requirements. It would be a remarkably narrow law that made it illegal to do something client-side but not server-side. AFAIK it's usually about what data you collect and how you use it, not precise details about how it was collected and stored along the way.

marketingtech 5y ago
The laws are around consent and the ability to revoke it, which can vary by the continent/country/state/city you're in as well as some other characteristics that may not be known at the time that the client-side code would execute. Server-side allows businesses to defer the data transfer until it's known whether specific consent is granted or revoked. It also allows you to more easily keep a record of the data shared with other parties in the event that a user withdraws prior consent or invokes a right to be forgotten. You then have the ability to tell your partners to also delete those data points.