AdReveal

TLDR

AdReveal is introduced to bring transparency to the online targeted advertising ecosystem by measuring the prevalence of different ad targeting mechanisms. The framework employs a browser‑based tool that collects data from 103 000 webpages and 139 000 display ads, then applies analysis techniques to characterize contextual, behavioral, and re‑marketing targeting mechanisms. The analysis shows that behavioral targeting is pervasive, with almost half of ad categories and up to 65 % of ads targeting users by interests—especially in Insurance, Real Estate, Travel & Tourism—and that re‑marketing is widely used, particularly in Travel & Tourism and Shopping.

Abstract

To address the pressing need to provide transparency into the online targeted advertising ecosystem, we present AdReveal, a practical measurement and analysis framework, that provides a first look at the prevalence of different ad targeting mechanisms. We design and implement a browser based tool that provides detailed measurements of online display ads, and develop analysis techniques to characterize the contextual, behavioral and re-marketing based targeting mechanisms used by advertisers. Our analysis is based on a large dataset consisting of measurements from 103K webpages and 139K display ads. Our results show that advertisers frequently target users based on their online interests; almost half of the ad categories employ behavioral targeting. Ads related to Insurance, Real Estate and Travel and Tourism make extensive use of behavioral targeting. Furthermore, up to 65% of ad categories received by users are behaviorally targeted. Finally, our analysis of re-marketing shows that it is adopted by a wide range of websites and the most commonly targeted re-marketing based ads are from the Travel and Tourism and Shopping categories.