Pixalate — High Risk Apps Pre-Bid Blocklist for CTV

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High Risk Apps Pre-Bid Blocklist for CTV

Daily updated blocklist of Connected TV (CTV) apps across 9 operating systems, flagged across 9 risk dimensions — combining persistent IVT signals, app store compliance, app-ads.txt authorization, and privacy risk into a single unified feed.

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Risk Reason Codes

highGivt highSivt missingPrivacyPolicy abandonedApp noAdsTxt developerAnonymity vpcBypass delistedApp mfaApp

Risk reason codes

CTV operating systems

378,622

App-Platform combinations monitored

52,102

Unique apps in monitoring universe

Update Frequency: Daily

Format: CSV

Access Methods: AWS RTB Fabric, API, FTP, S3

Operating Systems: Android, FireOS, Linux, Roku, Samsung, Sony, tvOS (Apple TV), LG webOS, Windows

Beyond Impression-Level Detection

Traditional ad fraud detection started from scratch on every impression, with each bid evaluated in isolation and disconnected from historical signals. The blocklist aligns with Media Rating Council (MRC) guidance to use lists of "known dangerous or fraudulent sources" in addition to impression-level IVT classifications.

Persistent IVT & Fraud Signals

Apps with sustained high GIVT or SIVT rates over a 3-month rolling window are flagged — not just individual impressions with anomalies.

Compliance & Privacy Risk

Apps missing privacy policies, child-directed apps transmitting personal data without Verifiable Parental Consent, and apps with unverifiable developer identities are identified at the app level.

Granular, Multi-Code Flagging

An app can carry multiple risk codes simultaneously. Buyers can build selective blocking logic — for example, blocking High SIVT while permitting apps flagged only for abandonment.

App-level risk and impression-level IVT are reported independently. Being on the High Risk CTV Apps list does not automatically classify impressions as IVT — buyers retain separate controls for each.

9 Risk Reason Codes

Every app on the blocklist is flagged based on defined thresholds. Apps can be tagged with one or more codes — all applicable codes are visible.

highGivt

High GIVT

Apps with General Invalid Traffic rates exceeding defined thresholds over a 3-month rolling window.

Threshold: >5% over 3 months

highSivt

High SIVT

Apps with Sophisticated Invalid Traffic rates exceeding defined thresholds over a 3-month rolling window.

Threshold: >15% over 3 months

missingPrivacyPolicy

Missing Privacy Policy

Apps missing privacy policy URLs on the official app store page and website, per Pixalate's analysis.

abandonedApp

Abandoned App

Apps not updated by developers for 3+ years; may be unmaintained, insecure, or non-compliant with current app store requirements.

Threshold: No update in 3+ years

noAdsTxt

Missing app-ads.txt

Apps generating ad impressions without a valid app-ads.txt file, indicating unauthorized inventory.

developerAnonymity

Developer Anonymity

Apps where the developer has missing or unverifiable contact information.

vpcBypass

VPC Bypass Risk

Child-directed apps transmitting personal data without Verifiable Parental Consent, creating COPPA compliance exposure.

delistedApp

Delisted App

Apps removed from app stores that continue to generate ad traffic.

mfaApp

Made for Advertising

Apps designed primarily to generate ad impressions rather than deliver genuine user value, including apps exhibiting ad stacking and other manipulative ad placement tactics.

Risk Type coverage differs across CTV operating systems based on each platform's level of transparency and metadata availability.

Use Cases

SSPs & Exchanges

Remove High-IVT Apps

Remove apps where IVT is material, persistent, and inseparable from legitimate traffic based on rolling 3-month signals.

Selective Blocking by Risk Code

Use risk reason codes to apply targeted blocking based on risk tolerance and publisher relationships — without over-blocking.

Preserve Measurement Accuracy

Surface app-level risk independently from impression-level IVT reporting so measurement integrity is not compromised.

DSPs & Agencies

Pre-Bid Filtering

Automatically exclude flagged App IDs from campaign targeting before a bid is placed.

Compliance & Regulatory Risk

Block apps flagged for Missing Privacy Policy, VPC Bypass Risk, or Delisted status to reduce exposure to privacy regulations.

Brand Safety

Prevent ad spend from reaching MFA apps, abandoned apps, and developers with unverifiable identities.

Data Schema

The High Risk CTV Apps daily feed is delivered as a CSV with the following columns.

Column Name	Type	Description
appId	STRING	The actual ID that characterizes a CTV app, if available.
bundleId	STRING	The bundle ID associated with the app.
osName	STRING	The operating system (OS) name associated with a given app (e.g., Roku, FireOS, tvOS).
platformName	STRING	The platform where the CTV app is available.
riskType	STRING	Comma-separated list of all applicable risk reason codes (e.g., `highSivt,abandonedApp,missingPrivacyPolicy`).

Availability

High Risk CTV Apps data is accessible as a daily CSV feed through multiple channels via Pixalate's Pre-Bid Blocking Data Feeds.

AWS RTB Fabric

Module for high-risk CTV app pre-bid filtering

API Access

Programmatic access via Pixalate APIs

FTP Data Feeds

Daily CSV blocklists delivered via FTP

S3 Bucket

Direct delivery to your AWS S3 bucket

App-level risk indicators are also surfaced in Pixalate's Analytics dashboard — including a boolean indicator showing whether an app is flagged on HRA and the share of voice of traffic on flagged apps.