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ComplianceMade for Advertising (MFA)

Made for Advertising (MFA)

What MFA inventory is, how it differs from IVT, and the Pixalate tools that find it on websites, mobile apps and CTV apps.

Pixalate defines made for advertising (MFA) as ad-enabled websites, CTV apps and mobile apps that are intentionally designed to generate arbitraged traffic. These properties generally have high ad density to maximize revenue, with little regard for user value.

Pixalate rates each property’s MFA risk as low, medium or high, and recommends transacting only with properties rated low. You can see the rating in the Media Ratings Terminal (MRT), look it up with the Enrichment API, block it with the MFA data feeds, and measure your exposure in the Analytics dashboard.

Video (2 min): what MFA is, how it differs from IVT, and where Pixalate shows it.

Why MFA matters

Many buyers used to accept MFA sites because they offered high reach and viewability. That’s changing as companies recognize that advertising on these properties is less effective, and that the poor experience reflects on the brands that appear there. Working with MFA properties is now treated as a brand safety risk.

MFA and IVT

MFA and invalid traffic (IVT) are related but not the same:

  • Not all MFA traffic is IVT. The general industry view is that MFA traffic doesn’t always meet the thresholds needed to be classed as IVT.
  • The signals overlap. Many of the data points Pixalate uses to detect MFA are also signals for its IVT detection.
  • MFA sites tend to carry more IVT. Pixalate has observed higher IVT levels on MFA sites than on non-MFA sites.

For Pixalate’s IVT types, see the IVT taxonomy.

Websites, mobile apps and CTV apps

Most industry discussion of MFA is about websites, but mobile and CTV apps can have the same problems. Pixalate identifies MFA across all three because its methodology analyzes observed traffic patterns rather than relying on crawling websites, which can be gamed.

The signals differ by environment:

EnvironmentSignals Pixalate uses
WebsitesAd density, ad refresh rate, paid traffic rate, social traffic rate
Mobile apps and CTV appsAd refresh rate, app age, IVT rate across regions, popularity score, number of reviews

See MFA methodology and definitions for what each signal means and how risk levels are assigned.

What MFA inventory looks like

MFA properties show recognizable patterns. These are the behaviors Pixalate’s signals are built to catch:

  • Websites: many ad placements, and a high volume of ads surfaced to each visitor in a short time. Ads can fire before the visitor has a chance to see them. A large share of the traffic is bought through paid ad sources or arrives from social media.
  • Mobile apps: a high volume of ads shown to each device in a short time. Pixalate weighs this together with app-level signals: the app’s age, its number of reviews, its popularity score and its IVT rate.
  • CTV apps: the same approach as mobile apps. Frequent ads per device are weighed together with the app’s age, reviews, popularity score and IVT rate.

Pixalate compares each signal against baselines calculated from its global traffic pool, and flags a property as likely MFA when its signals fall outside those baselines.

How Pixalate helps

ToolWhat you getLearn more
Media Ratings Terminal (MRT)An MFA risk filter and column in Discovery (websites and mobile apps), and an MFA risk card on a website’s Insights page.Find MFA sites and apps in the MRT
Enrichment APIThe mfa widget returns a property’s MFA risk and signal values for domains, mobile apps and CTV apps.Domain fields, mobile app fields, CTV app fields
MFA data feedsDaily lists of websites, mobile apps and CTV apps rated medium or high risk, for pre-bid blocking.MFA data feeds
Analytics dashboardReporting on how much of your traffic comes from MFA properties.MFA exposure reporting
MFA methodology and definitions

The signals behind MFA risk and how High and Medium are assigned.

Find MFA sites and apps in the MRT

Filter Discovery by MFA risk and read the MFA section in Insights.

MFA data feeds

Block medium- and high-risk MFA properties pre-bid.

MFA exposure reporting

Measure MFA traffic in the Analytics dashboard.

Questions? Email support@pixalate.com.