Q4 2022
There were no release notes for December 26, 2022.
There were no release notes for December 12, 2022.
Other product or Help Center updates
Minimum rendering time for video assets now 5 seconds
We now support a minimum view time of 5 seconds before the close button appears to a user on Open Auction interstitial App Video impressions, to provide you with the ability to render your video asset for a minimum of 5 seconds when serving in a interstitial App Video impression.Other product or Help Center updates
Inline install for rewarded and interstitial video inventory in iOS
Starting this week, we support inline install for rewarded and interstitial video inventory on iOS which will allow users to download promoted apps without leaving the original app they were using. To benefit from this change, bidders will need to respond withBidResponse.ad.advertised_app_id via the Google RTB protocol. Bidders integrated via the OpenRTB protocol can return this value via the BidResponse.seatbid.bid.bundle field. This app ID returned will be used to render an inline app store listing when the user clicks the app install ads.Other product or Help Center updates
Mismatched currency filtering
Starting in November 2022, Google will no longer filter bid responses which have a currency which does not match that of the bidder or account set currency. If a bid response indicates a currency, we will use this currency, regardless of whether it matches the bidder or account settings. If no currency is indicated, the bidder or account set currency will be used.Real-time bidding
Updates to bid request signal on inventory with increased privacy protections
Google has generalized the User Agent string and redacted the IP address field on bid requests for inventory with increased privacy protections. An example of inventory with increased privacy protections affected by these changes is non-personalized ads. See a complete list of the types of inventory subject to these additional privacy protections.
Q3 2022
No releases
There were no release notes for September 26, 2022.
Troubleshoot
Version deprecated in Creatives API
The creative version field in the Creatives API has been deprecated.
Policy
Authorized Buyers US Gambling and Games policies update
The Authorized Buyers Gambling and Games policy was updated on September 12, 2022 to allow state-licensed gambling entities to promote online gambling in certain US states.
Any advertisers who wish to promote online gambling content in the permitted US states are required to submit a gambling certification request through the updated policy page.
Improving inventory identification in ad_block_key and tag_id
We previously identified that ad_block_key and tag_id returned a value of =1 in some mApp requests. We have now improved the population rate of these fields, which are used for identifying publisher inventory slots.
No releases
There were no release notes for August 15, 2022.
Real-time bidding
Web interstitials for Open Bidding
Open Bidding buyers can now access web interstitial inventory. Interstitials are full-page web ads that appear between page views. Being able to compete for this inventory provides a new opportunity for impactful ads that respect Better Ads Standards. Activation is required for eligibility.
Other product or Help Center updates
Supporting SKAdNetwork 2.2 View-Through Attribution for non-interstitial ads
Google RTB now supports SKAdNetwork view-through attribution for non-interstitial ads on all iOS inventory. In addition, Apple now supports multiple active impression timers via Google’s Mobile Ads SDK (GMA) on iOS 15.4+ inventory, which allows for multiple view-through attribution ads concurrently.
Q2 2022
User interface
New Inventory Manager user role for Open Bidders
A new Inventory Manager role has been added to the Open Bidders account user roles. Administrators can grant users this role, which allows them to approve or disapprove publishers and gives them access to the troubleshooting and reporting tabs.
This new role creates the opportunity for Open Bidders to involve their operations early on without oversharing information or privileges within the application. It also allows their teams to onboard publishers at a faster rate by reducing the wait time for team-lead availability.
Real-time bidding
Google Ad Manager support for IPv6
Ad Manager has begun transitioning to send IPv6 ad request endpoints to all bidders. To minimize impact on forecasting and delivery based on IPv4, this will be done in a phase ramp up over the following months.
Real-time bidding
Is_default field removed from bid request
Google will remove the CreativeEnforcementSettings.is_default field from the bid request. This field had previously been included to indicate that the default settings for policy and protection filtering was in the default state. The remaining details in CreativeEnforcementSettings will continue to be populated as normal.
Bidders should continue to read the CreativeEnforcementSettings in the bid request to understand if a publisher has applied policies and/or protections to their demand. If creative enforcements have been applied, bid responses which do not meet these requirements will be filtered.
Denormalization PG/PD of flattened bid requests on video pod bids
TV commercial breaks have multiple ads shown back-to-back. Instead of receiving one bid request for the entire commercial break (which may be 3 minutes long), if you flatten bid requests, each ad in the commercial break will be sent as distinct bid requests. In certain cases for optimized pods, Programmatic Guaranteed and Preferred Deals are separated into their own bid requests because bids for these kinds of demand sources can only win in one pod position. This avoids sending duplicate bid requests for demand that can only win once per pod.
Policy
Sensitive inventory available to Authorized Buyers
In June, Google will be increasing the scope of sensitive inventory which is sent to Authorized Buyers. As a result, you may see additional requests for sensitive inventory unless you have blocked the category in your pretargeting controls. Learn more about sensitive categories in Authorized Buyers.
Real-time bidding
Google Ad Manager support for IPv6
Starting May 2022, Ad Manager will transition to sending IPv6 ad request endpoints to all bidders. To minimize impact on forecasting and delivery based on IPv4, this will be done in a phase ramp up over the following months.
Other product or Help Center updates
Non-SSL endpoint support deprecation
We will be deprecating non-SSL endpoint support for real-time bidding to protect data-in-transit. It is not expected for this change to be impactful as existing non-SSL callouts are minimal. Learn more about securing RTB callouts.
Sign up to participate in Topics Origin Trial testing
Google Chrome recently started a Topics Origin Trial. Authorized Buyers and Open Bidding partners who’d like to participate in testing can sign up to be included. Google will begin sending Topics information provided by the user's browser to interested partners on a small fraction of bid requests for web inventory, subject to the existing privacy controls.
Support for publisher-managed creatives in Programmatic Guaranteed deals
There is now limited Authorized Buyers support for publisher-managed creatives in Programmatic Guaranteed deals. “Limited support” means integration work may be needed to use the feature. Work with your account team to learn more.
User interface
Dayparting is negotiable in proposals
In a proposal, publishers can specify the days or parts of days (“Set days and times”) when ads can show. Now, these settings are visible to buyers in the proposal during negotiation. Also, any updates to the “Set days and times” settings require renegotiation and buyer approval.
Other product or Help Center updates
New publisher control to give buyers permission to collect and store user data
Beginning on April 6, publishers will have a new control in their accounts to give buyers permission to collect user data from impressions won on their inventory. Buyers will receive the new field allow_user_data_collection = {true, false} to indicate if the publisher has granted permission. Non-personalized ads (NPA) requests will not allow user data collection.
On this same date, Authorized Buyers Program Guidelines will be updated. As outlined under this policy, buyers must respect this publisher permission. When a publisher has granted permission to the buyer, the buyer will also be allowed to leverage the user profiles collected based on impressions won through the Authorized Buyers auction to inform their bidding on third-party exchanges. This policy will begin to take effect on May 11, 2022.
NativeAd.click_tracking_url(s) field deprecation
The click_tracking_url(s) in the NativeAd field in the Google Authorized Buyers protocol will be deprecated by the end of Q2 2022. Bidders can now use the Ad field to populate click-tracking URLs for bids with native ads and Programmatic Guaranteed (PG) deals. The NativeAd field will remain in the OpenRTB proto.
Japan’s Amended APPI came into force on April 1, 2022
In June 2020, the Japanese government introduced a set of amendments to the existing Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI). The Amended APPI came into force on April 1, 2022.
The Amended APPI, amongst other things, includes rules relating to the processing of “personally referable information” (“PRI”) of Japanese users. The Amended APPI will require companies to, when providing PRI of Japanese users to a third party who will likely associate that data with 'Personal Information', confirm with the recipient that the recipient has obtained consent from data subjects to the recipient's processing, and record recipient's confirmation. PRI typically takes the form of information collected by identifiers that do not in themselves identify a specific individual (for example, a cookie ID) and are not stored alongside Personal Data (as defined in the APPI).
If you receive PRI (referred to in the policy as non-personally identifiable user information) relating to Japanese users from Google in connection with your use of Google's platform products, you must not merge that information with personally-identifiable information unless, prior to such processing, you have obtained all legally required consents from the user and have provided Google with accurate and complete information about the processing via the Google Ads Data Protection Terms Troubleshooter.
Your handling of PRI must conform to the requirements of the Amended APPI as well as the Platforms program polices.
Q1 2022
Other product or Help Center updates
Updates to semi-transparent URLs in Open Bidding
We have updated the treatment of semi-transparent URLs in Open Bidding. Previously, semi-transparency was not enforced on requests to exchanges participating in Open Bidding. Semi-transparency is now enforced across all programmatic demand.
Other product or Help Center updates
Express your interest in FLEDGE Origin Trials testing
Google Chrome is planning to start the FLEDGE Origin Trials in the coming months. Google is working toward supporting FLEDGE Origin Trials testing on Ad Manager inventory for its Authorized Buyers partners. We’d like to provide Authorized Buyers with the opportunity to collaborate and learn with us in this journey. You can express your interest to participate in the FLEDGE Origin Trials in this form.
User interface
Authorized Buyers and Open Bidding Reporting page has a new look
The Authorized Buyers and Open Bidding platforms have a new look to the Reporting tab. This update may alter your previous workflows when interacting with the tool. However, the functionality of the Reporting tool won’t change.