FLEDGE
On-device ad auctions to serve remarketing and custom audiences, without cross-site third-party tracking.
Published on • Updated on
Developer Advocate, Google Chrome
Developer Relations Engineer, Google Chrome
Who is this article for?
This article covers the basics of FLEDGE and explains some underlying concepts, but doesn't go into much technical detail.
- If you work in advertising or ad tech, you'll get an overview of how FLEDGE works.
- If you're a developer or software engineer, the FLEDGE API Developer Guide provides more in-depth technical detail about the proposal and the Intent to prototype offers the latest conversation about FLEDGE status in the browser.
- The FLEDGE demo provides a walkthrough of a basic FLEDGE deployment.
Refer to the glossary for terms used across FLEDGE documentation.
At the end of this article, you can learn how to engage and share feedback.
What is FLEDGE?
FLEDGE is a Privacy Sandbox proposal to serve remarketing and custom audience use cases, designed so third parties cannot track user browsing behavior across sites.
The API enables on-device auctions by the browser, to choose relevant ads from websites the user has previously visited.
FLEDGE is the first experiment to be implemented in Chromium within the TURTLEDOVE family of proposals. The Privacy Sandbox timeline provides implementation timing information for FLEDGE and other Privacy Sandbox proposals.
How does FLEDGE differ from Turtledove?
The differences mostly pertain to separation of the on-device role of the ad buyer and seller. The sections below explain how FLEDGE works.
FLEDGE in one minute
For a more in-depth overview of FLEDGE, read the FLEDGE API developer guide.
FLEDGE uses interest groups to enable sites to display ads that are relevant to their users.
For example, when a user visits a website that wants to advertise its products, an interest group owner (such as a demand side platform or DSP working for the site) can ask the user's browser to add membership for the interest group. The group owner (in this example, the DSP) does this by calling the JavaScript function navigator.joinAdInterestGroup(). If the call is successful, the browser records:
- The name of the interest group: for example, 'custom-bikes'.
- The owner of the interest group: for example, 'https://dsp.example'.
- Interest group configuration information to enable the browser to access bidding code, ad code, and realtime data, if the group's owner is invited to bid in an online ad auction. This information can be updated later by the interest group owner.
There are other use cases for interest groups: see the examples of owners and types.
Later, when the user visits a site that sells ad space, the ad space seller (most likely the site's SSP, or the site itself) can use FLEDGE to run an ad auction to select the most appropriate ads to display to the user. The seller calls the navigator.runAdAuction() function, which provides a list of interest group owners who are invited to bid.
Bidding code is only run for interest groups that the browser is a member of, and whose owners have been invited to bid.
Bidding code is retrieved from the URL provided in the configuration information for the interest group. This code is passed data about the interest group and information from the seller, along with contextual data about the page and from the browser.
Each bidder is also known as a buyer.
When the browser calls the function to run the ad auction, each buyer's code generates a bid with the help of real-time data provided by their FLEDGE Key/Value service. Then, the seller receives these bids as well as seller-owned real-time data, and scores each bid. The bid with the highest score wins the auction.
The winning ad is displayed in a fenced frame. The ad creative's URL is specified in the bid, and the origin must match one in the list provided by the interest group's configuration.
The seller can report the auction outcome (reportResult()), and buyers can report their wins (reportWin()).
Learn how to generate reports of the FLEDGE auction results.
Why do we need FLEDGE?
Understanding user interests can enable more relevant ads than simply choosing ads based on site content (contextual targeting) or by using information that the user provided to the site on which the ad appears (first-party data targeting).
Traditionally, ad platforms have learned about user interests by tracking their behavior across sites. Browsers need a way to enable ad platforms to select relevant ads, so content publishers can get ad revenue, without cross-site tracking.
The FLEDGE experiment aims to move the web platform closer to a state where the user's browser, on their device—not the advertiser or ad tech platforms—holds information about what that person is interested in.
Not all features described here have been implemented (in part or in full) in the version of the FLEDGE API currently being tested in Chrome. The FLEDGE API developer guide explains what FLEDGE features are currently available for testing in Chrome run from the command line using feature flags.
Features of FLEDGE will be added over time. While the origin trial is active, we'll regularly update a list of which features are already implemented and what's still in progress.
How can I try FLEDGE?
FLEDGE API developer guide describes how to take part in the Privacy Sandbox Relevance and Measurement origin trial and how to try out FLEDGE for a single user by setting Chrome flags.
fledge-demo.glitch.me provides a walkthrough of a basic FLEDGE deployment across advertiser and publisher sites.
- Watch the FLEDGE demo video to understand how the demo code works. The video also previews how to use Chrome DevTools for FLEDGE debugging.
What browser configuration is available?
Users can adjust their participation for Privacy Sandbox trials in Chrome by enabling or disabling the top-level setting in chrome://settings/privacySandbox. During initial testing, people can use the Privacy Sandbox setting to opt out of FLEDGE.
Chrome plans to allow users to see and manage the list of interest groups that they've been added to, across the sites they've visited. As with the Privacy Sandbox technologies, user settings may evolve with feedback from users, regulators, and others.
We'll update the available settings in Chrome as the FLEDGE proposal progresses, based on tests and feedback. In the future, we'll offer more granular settings to manage FLEDGE and associated data.
API callers can't access group membership when users browse in Incognito mode, and membership is removed when users clear their site data.
Can I opt out of FLEDGE?
Learn how you can block access to the FLEDGE API, either as a site owner or as an individual user.
Key concepts
Looking for more information on FLEDGE terminology? Refer to the Privacy Sandbox glossary.
What is an interest group?
What is an interest group?
A FLEDGE interest group represents a group of people with a common interest, corresponding to a remarketing list.
Every FLEDGE interest group has an owner. Different types of owners will create different types of interest groups with different use cases.
The owner asks the user's browser to add membership of their interest group by calling the JavaScript function navigator.joinAdInterestGroup(), providing information such as data about ads relevant to the interest group, and a URL for JavaScript used in bidding. Interest group data (such as the ads) can be updated, and an interest group can be enabled for up to 30 days.
Interest groups are stored in the browser and can make bids in FLEDGE in-browser auctions, but aren't programmatically 'readable'. In other words there's no navigator.getAdInterestGroups(), as this would expose cross-site identity.
The table below provides examples of different types of FLEDGE interest group and owner.
| Owner | Example | Interest | Example | Use cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advertiser | Bike maker | Products | People who viewed product pages for a particular category of bike. | Remarketing to people who have previously interacted with the brand. |
| Publisher | News website | Content | People who read about cycling. | Publishers can use first-party data to enable advertisers to buy ads that are relevant to readers on their site. A publisher-owned interest group could let publishers do the same even when those people are browsing other sites. Publishers may be able to charge for the ability to show ads to specific segments of their audience. |
| Ad tech | DSP | Category of products | People who showed an interest in cycling gear. | An ad tech company might create and manage an interest group of people they believe are in the market for some category of item. This interest group could then be used to advertise products on sites that sell things in that category (and who work with the ad tech company). |
Chrome allows up to 1000 interest groups per owner, and up to 1000 interest group owners. These limits are meant as guard rails, not to be hit in regular operation.
What is a buyer?
What is a buyer?
In FLEDGE, a party that owns an interest group and bids in an ad auction.
For example:
- Advertiser: acting for itself.
- Demand-Side Platform (DSP): acting for advertisers.
- Interest group owner: working for multiple advertisers.
Buyers have three jobs:
- Choose whether to participate in an auction.
- Choose ads and calculate a bid.
- Report the auction outcome.
These jobs are done programmatically, in code provided by the buyer that is run during a FLEDGE ad auction.
When a buyer asks a user's browser to add an interest group to the groups it is a member of (by calling the JavaScript function navigator.joinAdInterestGroup()) the buyer provides the browser with:
- A URL for bidding code, that will be used when the seller runs an ad auction.
- Potentially, URLs for ad creatives for the interest group. (Ad URLs may be added later via an update.)
- A list of data keys to be queried, and the URL of the buyer's Key/Value service, to enable bidding code to get realtime data during an auction.
The buyer's code can also include a reportWin() function to report the auction outcome.
Who runs an ad auction?
Who runs an ad auction?
There are multiple parties that might run an auction to sell ad space.
For example:
- Content publisher: acting for itself to host ad content on its website.
- Supply-side platform (SSP): working with the publisher and providing other services.
- Third-party script: acting for a publisher, to enable participation in ad auctions.
With FLEDGE, an ad space seller has three jobs:
- Enforce publisher rules: which buyers and which bids are eligible.
- Run auction logic: JavaScript run in worklets to calculate a desirability score for each bid.
- Report the auction outcome.
These jobs are done programmatically, in code provided by the seller when it instigates an ad auction by calling the JavaScript function navigator.runAdAuction().
How does a FLEDGE ad auction work?
How does a FLEDGE ad auction work?
The diagram below outlines each stage of a FLEDGE ad auction: view a larger version.
In FLEDGE, an ad auction is a collection of small JavaScript programs the browser runs on the user's device to choose an ad. To preserve privacy, all ad auction code from the seller and buyers is run in isolated JavaScript worklets that can't talk to the outside world.
A seller (a publisher or a supply-side platform) initiates a FLEDGE ad auction on a site that sells ad space (such as a news site). The seller chooses buyers to participate in the auction, indicates what space is for sale, and provides additional criteria for the ad. Each buyer is the owner of an interest group.
The seller provides the browser with code to score bids, which includes each bid's value, the ad creative URL, and other data returned from each buyer. During the auction, bidding code from buyers and bid-scoring code from the seller can receive data from their Key/Value services. Once an ad is chosen and displayed (in a fenced frame to preserve privacy) the seller and the winning bidder can report the auction result.
A user visits a site which displays ads.
The seller's code starts an auction. The seller specifies which ad space is for sale and who can bid, as well as a method to score those bids.
The invited buyer's code executes to generate a bid, URL for a relevant ad creative, and other data. The bidding script can query for real-time data, such as the remaining ad campaign budget, from the buyer's Key/Value service.
The seller's code scores each bid and selects a winner. This logic uses the bid value and other data return a bid's desirability and reject an ad that can't beat the contextual ad winner. The seller can use their own Key/Value service for real-time data. Before an auction starts, the seller finds the best contextual ad for the available ad slot.
The winning ad is returned as an opaque value, which displays in a fenced frame. Both the seller and publisher will be unable to view this value.
The auction is reported to the seller and winning buyers.
The seller's
reportResult()and buyer'sreportWin()can include a call tosendReportTo(). This is available temporarily, until aggregate reporting is available with Private Aggregation.A reporting mechanism for losing buyers is under discussion.
What is a FLEDGE Key/Value service?
What is a FLEDGE Key/Value service?
FLEDGE Key/Value service allows ad techs to query for realtime data when a bid is made by the buyer, and for sellers to score ads while preserving privacy. FLEDGE Key/Value service is one of the FLEDGE services.
The Key/Value service is deployed to the ad tech's own cloud infrastructure, and the service runs on a trusted execution environment. A request to a Key/Value service cannot result in event-level logging or have other side effects. The Key/Value service will also support user-defined functions (UDFs) that allow ad techs to execute their own custom logic within the Key/Value service.
A buyer or seller provides a list of 'keys' to specify the data they require from a FLEDGE Key/Value service. The Key/Value service responds with a value for each key.
The FLEDGE Key/Value service code is now available in a Privacy Sandbox GitHub repository. This service can be used by Chrome and Android developers.
Learn more about the FLEDGE Key/Value service from the API explainer and the trust model explainer.
How is realtime data incorporated into auctions?
How is realtime data incorporated into auctions?
The buyers or seller in an ad auction may need access to realtime data. For example, bidders may want to calculate the remaining budget in an ad campaign, or the seller may be required to check ad creatives against publisher policies.
To meet the privacy requirements of FLEDGE, realtime data required during an ad auction is provided by the Key/Value service. When each buyer calls navigator.joinAdInterestGroup(),the buyer specifies a Key/Value service URL and specifies the keys to be queried to the service during an auction. Likewise, when the seller runs an ad auction by calling navigator.runAdAuction(), the seller provides a URL for its Key/Value service. The seller's Key/Value service will be queried with the render URL of the creative.
For initial testing, "Bring Your Own Server" model is used. In the long-term, ad techs will need to use the open-source FLEDGE Key/Value services running in trusted execution environments for retrieving real-time data.
To ensure that the ecosystem has sufficient time to test, we don’t expect to require the use of the open-source Key/Value services or TEEs until sometime after third-party cookie deprecation. We will provide substantial notice for developers to begin testing and adoption before this transition takes place.
Find out more
For a more in-depth overview of FLEDGE, read the FLEDGE API developer guide.
Developers
If you're ready to start working with FLEDGE, read experiment and participate.
We've written an API developer guide and built a FLEDGE demo which offers a walkthrough of a basic FLEDGE deployment. The FLEDGE demo video explains how the demo code works, and shows how to use Chrome DevTools for FLEDGE debugging.
Engage and share feedback
- GitHub: Read the proposal, raise questions and follow discussion.
- Announcements: Join or view past announcements on the FLEDGE mailing list.
- W3C: Discuss industry use cases in the Improving Web Advertising Business Group.
- Developer support: Ask questions about implementation, and best practices, or join discussions on the Privacy Sandbox Developer Support repo.
- Current implementation: For questions about the implementation currently available to test in Chrome: file a Chromium bug.
Updated on • Improve article