Pixalate Blog

SIVT fraud detection: What is hidden, stacked, covered, or otherwise intentionally obfuscated ad serving?

Written by Tyler Loechner | Jul 17, 2017 3:51:46 PM

Pixalate is an MRC-accredited company for the detection and filtration of Sophisticated Invalid Traffic ("SIVT") desktop and mobile web impressions.

According to the Media Rating Council’s (MRC) standards for Invalid Traffic Detection and Filtration Guidelines, there are two types of invalid traffic:

  • GIVT (General Invalid Traffic)
  • SIVT (Sophisticated Invalid Traffic)

One example of SIVT is “hidden/stacked/covered or otherwise intentionally obfuscated ad serving.”

What is “hidden, stacked, covered, or otherwise intentionally obfuscated ad serving” in the MRC definition of SIVT?

According to the MRC, hidden, stacked, covered or otherwise intentionally obfuscated ad serving is considered SIVT.

This one is fairly self-explanatory. When multiple ads are delivered to the same page or app, but are intentionally hidden — e.g. impossible for the user to see them — they are considered invalid ads.

The ads can be hidden behind content, they can be off-screen, or they can be in tiny 1x1 pixels that are effectively invisible.

MRC-accredited ad fraud detection and prevention companies must be able to identify and filter hidden, stacked, covered, or otherwise intentionally obfuscated ad serving.

What are some other examples of SIVT?

Hidden/stacked/covered or otherwise intentionally obfuscated ad serving is just one example of Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT) as defined by the MRC. To learn about some of the other examples of SIVT, click on any of the examples below: