Glossary/Adtech & Programmatic/ads.cert
Adtech & Programmatic
ads.cert
An IAB Tech Lab protocol that uses cryptographic signatures to verify that bid requests and their contents genuinely come from the stated seller.
By Brandon Mina·CEO, BrandPilot AI·Updated November 2026
Short answer
ads.cert is an IAB Tech Lab protocol that uses cryptographic signatures to verify that bid requests and their contents genuinely come from the stated seller. By letting buyers confirm that key details have not been altered or spoofed in transit, it aims to reduce fraud such as domain spoofing and device spoofing in programmatic advertising.