VP of Product Marketing

Pixalate unveils ad fraud 'clawback warnings' across 17.5M+ programmatic publishers to equip SSP inventory quality teams for publisher screening & due diligence. Functioning like an Amazon-style high-return label for publisher inventory, the monthly updated label draws on transactions monitored across 745 global ad exchanges to flag CTV apps, mobile apps, and websites, including ads.txt-verified publishers, that exceed ad fraud clawback thresholds observed across multiple seller paths. October 06, 2026 11:51 ET | Source: Pixalate LONDON, Oct. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Pixalate, a global ad fraud and privacy compliance platform, today introduced the ad industry's first Clawback Warning label in its Media Ratings Terminal (MRT). The label marks CTV apps, mobile apps, and websites with Invalid Traffic (IVT) disputes reported against them. Drawing on Pixalate's view of 745 global ad exchanges, the label gives SSPs and exchanges a new data point to research before onboarding a publisher. Pixalate evaluates 17.5 million+ CTV apps, mobile apps, and websites in the MRT and refreshes the warning monthly over a rolling 12-month window, so it reflects ongoing activity rather than a one-off report. The warning complements the risk ratings and labels Pixalate already publishes for each app and website. How SSPs and Exchanges Can Use the Clawback Warning to Reduce Risk * Waterfall detection: Spot publishers that may sell higher-quality traffic through some SSPs and lower-quality traffic through others, especially in international markets. * Cross-Ad Exchange screening: See clawbacks reported across other supply paths. * Onboarding due diligence: Research a new publisher's apps and websites for clawbacks before the inventory enters the marketplace. * Continuous monitoring: Check supply already in the marketplace each month for new clawbacks reported by buyers. How Bad Actors Use the 'Waterfall' Approach to Hide IVT Low IVT on one exchange doesn't automatically make a publisher safe to work with. Publishers can waterfall their inventory, selling higher-quality traffic through some SSPs and lower-quality traffic through others, especially in international markets, and each exchange sees only its own disputes. Like Amazon's "Frequently Returned Item" label, which asks shoppers to check product details and reviews before buying, the Clawback Warning flags additional risk factors encouraging SSPs and exchanges to research a publisher before onboarding. How It Works * Input: Apps and websites named in clawbacks filed through Pixalate's Clawback Tool, plus third-party clawback submissions reviewed against supporting evidence before inclusion. * Lookback: A rolling 12-month window, matching the lookback period of Pixalate's Clawback Tool, refreshed monthly. * Output: The Clawback Warning label on the app's or website's MRT page, with a month-by-month record of clawbacks and a months-affected count (e.g., 4 of 12). The warning is meant to help SSPs and exchanges make more informed onboarding decisions, and it is a prompt to look closer rather than a verdict. Pixalate applies it automatically and removes it once an app or website goes 12 months without a reported clawback; no party can add or remove it manually. The MRT shows how many months were affected, not who filed each clawback, and reports the warning separately from impression-level IVT measurement. System Metrics | Specification Parameter | System Data | | CTV apps, mobile apps, and websites evaluated | 17.5 million+ | | Global ad platforms covered | 745 | | App stores covered | Apple App Store, Google Play Store, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung TV, Apple TV, LG TV | | Lookback window | Rolling 12 months | | Update frequency | Monthly | | Data sources | Pixalate Clawback Tool; third-party clawback submissions | Availability The Clawback Warning label is live today in Pixalate's Media Ratings Terminal at ratings.pixalate.com on CTV app, mobile app, and website pages. Pixalate's Clawback Tool is available to Pixalate Analytics clients. About Pixalate Pixalate is a global platform specializing in privacy compliance, ad fraud prevention, and digital ad supply chain data intelligence. Founded in 2012 and recognized by UNICEF as a "key innovator" for children's online privacy, Pixalate is trusted by regulators, data researchers, advertisers, publishers, ad tech platforms, and financial analysts across the Connected TV (CTV), mobile app, and website ecosystems. Pixalate is accredited by the MRC for the detection and filtration of Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT). pixalate.com Media Contact: [email protected] Disclaimer The content of this press release reflects Pixalate's opinions with respect to factors that Pixalate believes may be useful to the digital media industry. Any data shared (including in the Clawback Tool) is grounded in Pixalate's proprietary technology and analytics, which Pixalate is continuously evaluating and updating. Any references to outside sources should not be construed as endorsements. Pixalate's opinions are just that, opinions, which means that they are neither facts nor guarantees. Pixalate is sharing this information and any associated data not to impugn the standing or reputation of any entity, person or app, but, instead, to report findings and trends pertaining to programmatic advertising activity in the time period studied. Per the MRC, "'Fraud' is not intended to represent fraud as defined in various laws, statutes and ordinances or as conventionally used in U.S. Court or other legal proceedings, but rather a custom definition strictly for advertising measurement purposes." Also per the MRC, "'Invalid Traffic' is defined generally as traffic that does not meet certain ad serving quality or completeness criteria, or otherwise does not represent legitimate ad traffic that should be included in measurement counts. Among the reasons why ad traffic may be deemed invalid is it is a result of non-human traffic (spiders, bots, etc.), or activity designed to produce fraudulent traffic."

Pixalate launches OpenEPG DB(TM) 1.0 and Pre-Bid API for CTV Open Programmatic advertising: mapping 580,000+ shows across 13,900+ channels, including Tubi, Samsung TV Plus and The Roku Channel, with zero publisher opt-in required. September 21, 2026 13:20 ET | Source: Pixalate Pre-Bid API Enriches Open Programmatic CTV Bid Requests With a Standard Content Object in Real Time Across 6,192 U.S. Apps on Roku, Samsung Tizen, Amazon Fire TV, LG webOS, Vizio SmartCast, Apple tvOS, Android TV, Android and iOS, Eliminating Show Name and Genre Blind Spots, Built to IAB Tech Lab's OpenRTB 2.6 Specification LONDON, Sept. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Pixalate, a global ad fraud and privacy compliance platform, today released OpenEPG DB(TM) 1.0 and its Pre-Bid API. The system maps 375,000+ Bundle ID variations to 580,000+ shows across 13,900+ FAST and linear streaming channels. It operates across 6,192 U.S. streaming apps on Roku, Samsung Tizen, Amazon Fire TV, LG webOS, Vizio SmartCast, Apple tvOS, Android TV, Android and iOS. The API requires zero publisher opt-in and no publisher-side SDK or integration. Today, show-level data for streaming TV comes from two places: program schedules that content owners submit to metadata providers, or automatic content recognition (ACR). Neither appears in most open programmatic bid requests, and the gap is widest on multi-channel FAST aggregators, where a single Bundle ID can carry hundreds of channels. OpenEPG DB(TM) 1.0 covers the FAST channels distributed through aggregators such as Tubi, Samsung TV Plus and The Roku Channel, and Pixalate's API resolves them at the bid request level using only the fields already in the request. "Open programmatic CTV has been blind to streaming TV show names: the publisher doesn't pass the show name, so the buyer prices the app and guesses the rest. For the first time, that bid request can be resolved to the actual show in real time," said Jalal Nasir, CEO of Pixalate. "OpenEPG DB(TM) 1.0 unlocks content-level intelligence for the open ecosystem and FAST inventory." How It Works * Input: A standard OpenRTB 2.6 bid request arrives carrying two fields standard in every CTV bid request: app.bundle and device.ua. * Resolution: Pixalate's pre-bid engine matches those fields, plus any channel identifier or channel name carried in the request, against OpenEPG DB(TM) 1.0 in real time. * Output: The API returns the same bid request with the resolved program spliced into app.content as standard OpenRTB 2.6 Content fields. Example response: | { "app": { "bundle": "com.pluto.tv", "content": { "id": "ec-4Fq0X2", "title": "SportsCenter", "genre": "Sports", "contentrating": "TV-PG", "channel": {"id": "eg-Tj5r8w", "name": "ESPN"}, "ext": {"openepg": {"attribution": "pixalate-openepg/v1"}} } }, "device": {"ua": "Roku/DVP-13.0.0"} } | Protocol-Level Mechanics The API parses incoming OpenRTB 2.6 bid requests using two required fields: app.bundle and device.ua. When bid streams contain platform channel identifiers or channel names, the resolution engine incorporates these signals to calculate match confidence. The API returns a native OpenRTB 2.6 Content object that can include: * content.title * content.series * content.genre * content.contentrating * content.channel.id and content.channel.name A statistical confidence score (0.00 to 1.00) is returned with each resolved response. Packages are tiered by monthly request volume; contact Pixalate for details. System Metrics | Specification Parameter | System Performance Data | | Catalog Coverage | 580,000+ TV shows | | Channel Index | 13,900+ FAST and linear channels | | App Footprint | 6,192 U.S. apps mapped across 9 OS platforms | | Bundle ID Normalization | 375,000+ raw variations mapped to parent apps | | Integration Overhead | 0 SDKs; 0 lines of publisher code | Deployment & Availability OpenEPG DB(TM) 1.0 and the Pre-Bid API are available today in private beta for DSPs, SSPs and exchanges. Engineering documentation is published on Pixalate's API Explorer. Post-bid metrics are available in the OpenEPG(TM) Analytics dashboard and the free monthly OpenEPG(TM) Index. About Pixalate Pixalate is a global platform specializing in privacy compliance, ad fraud prevention, and digital ad supply chain data intelligence. Founded in 2012 and recognized by UNICEF as a "key innovator" for children's online privacy, Pixalate is trusted by regulators, data researchers, advertisers, publishers, ad tech platforms, and financial analysts across the Connected TV (CTV), mobile app, and website ecosystems. Pixalate is accredited by the MRC for the detection and filtration of Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT). pixalate.com Disclaimer OpenEPG DB(TM) 1.0 and the OpenEPG(TM) Pre-Bid API are available in private beta and subject to change. OpenEPG(TM) data reflects Pixalate's opinions based on open-exchange signals and public EPG data; no assurances or guarantees are made as to the accuracy or completeness of any classification, resolution, or rating. Attributions are for identification purposes only and imply no affiliation, partnership, or endorsement. Pixalate's full disclaimer can be found here.

Pixalate has launched the Ad SDK Trust Index 1.0, an independent database that audits 698 advertising and data broker software development kits (SDKs) for compliance violations through source-code analysis. The index addresses a gap in mobile app security by verifying whether SDK code behaviour matches public privacy disclosures. Both Apple and Google hold developers accountable for integrated SDKs, but neither provides independent verification tools. Pixalate's analysis flagged significant discrepancies. The company found 33 SDKs transmitting precise geolocation data without proper disclosure, affecting up to 10,613 apps from 4,873 developers and exposing them to potential FTC Section 5 violation risks. An additional 57 SDKs lack proper privacy manifest disclosure, impacting up to 88,787 apps from 25,564 developers. The index shifts the industry from self-attestation to code-level verification, helping developers identify undisclosed data collection before facing regulatory enforcement or app store removal.