
Ask HN: Privacy Focused Ad Network? - chris_f
I am soon releasing a privacy based search engine (similar in concept to DuckDuckGo, StartPage, etc).<p>Context based search ads are the obvious path to monetization, but I am having trouble finding an ad network that fits with principles of the site (i.e. no user tracking or storing search queries).<p>I have looked at Context Cue (https:&#x2F;&#x2F;contextcue.com&#x2F;), but the ads are embedded with third-party JavaScript and they record users&#x27; IP address&#x2F;user agent, which are both deal breakers.<p>Is anyone aware of an ad network that prioritizes user privacy.  I am also open to any alternative ideas to monetize the site, as long it protects user privacy and also adds value to the user.
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cavneb
I run [https://codefund.io](https://codefund.io). We have been focusing on
providing ethical advertising to support open source development for nearly 3
years. We provide both javascript-based ad embedding, as well as server-to-
server. Our platform is 100% open source [1]. We do not store any IP
addresses, nor any identifiable information on ad viewers. We are even
endorsed by DuckDuckGo as a viable alternative to Google Ads [2]. Our platform
is whitelisted with AcceptableAds.com as well [3].

1\.
[https://github.com/gitcoinco/code_fund_ads](https://github.com/gitcoinco/code_fund_ads)

2\. [https://spreadprivacy.com/how-to-remove-
google/](https://spreadprivacy.com/how-to-remove-google/)

3\.
[https://acceptableads.com/en/solutions](https://acceptableads.com/en/solutions)

~~~
dougbarrett
This is so cool! I've been writing ad software for the greater part of the
decade, and my dream has always been to write my own small app to serve ads
like how you are describing, but I'd be afraid that nobody would find value in
it because there would be obvious restrictions beyond geo targeting.

It's great to see that you've proven it's possible and made it open source on
top of it!

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silverreads
Why not sell locally hosted ads for keywords directly? The only other way to
do it would be to check in with an ad provider periodically and update your
ads from their list. In my simple model, there would be no tracking, and the
ads would have to have noticeable impact for customer sales to establish
value.

Just to flesh that out with a little context, I posted this on mastodon a few
months ago: "Maybe I should make what I hate most: an ad company. Something
with no javascript, no click tracking (heck why make an ad into a link at
all...), no demographic personalization, no video, and simple honest
accounting of ad placement (eg, ad was on xxx.yyy for zzz days, you owe us a
buck). We'll target smaller sites looking to monetize content without driving
away their users, and make it easy to serve ads from your own domain to reduce
the chance they are blocked. Also it will be very inexpensive. That's the
right way to do it."

~~~
chris_f
I agree completely. That would be the optimal solution, it would just take a
lot of effort on top of the focus of building the core project. I was hoping
to avoid the complexity of building my own ad system and selling the ads
directly, but I'm not sure if an ad network currently exists that fits my
needs.

I could be completely wrong, but I believe there is a market for exactly what
you describe in your mastodon post. At least I am in that very market.

~~~
_bxg1
^ This has been exactly my experience too. I wanted an ad network that fit the
above description, briefly thought about trying to build one, decided that
definitely wasn't what I wanted to spend my time on, and held out a small hope
that one day somebody would.

~~~
silverreads
If you guys want to grab an IRC room for a bit, we could work out how this
could be accomplished for at least a prototype.

~~~
_bxg1
I don't have IRC :)

What I will say is: I think the technical side is the easy part. Just serving
static content. The hard part, which is also much less fun, is the business
side of acquiring customers who want to advertise. Not only is there a bit of
a chicken-and-egg problem, it'd require marketing, negotiating, maybe inroads
in certain circles, knowledge of the market, etc. That's the point at which I
decided I didn't want to mess with it haha.

------
chris_f
I also just came across this,
[https://www.ethicalads.io/](https://www.ethicalads.io/)

It looks promising, but it hasn't launched yet and I can't get the "subscribe
to updates" form to send me a confirmation email.

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RL_Quine
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