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The Madison Avenue Field GuideA field guide to marketing & advertising, by Brandon Mina

GlossaryPrivacy & IdentityUniversal ID

Privacy & Identity

Universal ID

A shared identifier across the ad ecosystem meant to replace third-party cookies.

By Brandon MinaCEO, BrandPilot AIUpdated November 2026

Short answer

A universal ID is a shared identifier used across the advertising ecosystem, intended as a replacement for third-party cookies. Most are built from hashed, consented emails or logins and let publishers, platforms and advertisers recognize the same user consistently for targeting, frequency capping and measurement.