How we’re transforming transaction IDs to benefit creators and publishers

There’s a new hot topic in programmatic advertising: transaction IDs. And while it may sound like ad industry jargon, these discussions have serious implications for your revenue. 

As always, we’re focused on how to ensure the best outcome for creators and publishers, which is why we’ve proposed an industry-wide solution to ensure you’re treated fairly.

What are transaction IDs?

Each time an ad loads on your site, there’s a split-second auction so advertisers can bid on the space. Transaction IDs (or TIDs) are unique numbers attached to each auction that help buyers identify the same ad opportunity through multiple channels. 

In theory, TIDs help streamline the bidding process, reducing clutter and wasted spend for advertisers. 

But in practice? TIDs could suppress competition, which ultimately results in lower ad prices and less money for you. 

The downside of TIDs

Advertisers use TIDs to avoid bidding multiple times (also called “duplication”), but that leads to fewer bids through hidden buyer practices known as “bidding rings.” This is where several advertisers’ bids are bundled together within buyer platforms, and only the highest offer is sent to the publisher. 

Think of it like selling your house: if multiple buyers show up to make an offer, you get a fairer price. If they all band together and only one makes an offer, you don’t know the true market value of your property.

TIDs also put your data at risk; as they travel through the programmatic system, they reveal information about you.  

A TID is like a license plate; it doesn’t tell you everything, but it’s an identifier that can be used to connect the dots. TIDs make it possible to reconstruct details about your site, audience, and ad performance by anyone in the pipeline. 

Why do TIDs matter to creators and publishers?

The industry is debating whether or not publishers should adopt TIDs across the board. Advertisers want fewer auctions because it saves them money, while publishers and creators need more auctions to drive up prices and protect their revenue. 

It may sound like inside baseball, but the stakes are big. If the open internet becomes a place where buyers hold all the cards, creators lose. And if creators lose, the internet loses its diversity, independence, and richness.

We’re using our scale and leadership to make sure that doesn’t happen. By fighting for fairness in digital advertising, we’re creating more opportunities and better outcomes for you—the creators who power the open web.

So what can be done? 

Raptive’s solution: encrypted TIDs

The answer isn’t to throw out TIDs altogether, because they still help clean up a messy system. But we think there’s a better way. 

We’re pushing the industry forward with a solution where buyers and sellers win: encrypted TIDs, or eETIDs. 

With eETIDs, creators and publishers gain critical protections:

• Data protection: encryption prevents misuse of your data
• Fair competition: as a condition of use, advertisers must support multi-bidding, restoring the bid density that drives higher prices
• Shared transparency: buyers using eETIDs must share their bid data, giving creators and publishers visibility

We’re submitting a proposal to the industry standards body and building eETIDs into Prebid, the technology most publishers use for auctions. In early 2026, all Raptive inventory will support eETIDs, so only trusted advertisers will be able to bid on your ads. 

With eETIDs, we ensure that competition stays high for your ad impressions, your data stays safe, and your RPMs stay strong.