PubMatic Ad Quality Policy

Updated: December 11, 2025

  1. Purpose and Scope
    This Ad Quality Policy establishes the standards and procedures governing the delivery of advertisements through PubMatic’s platform and related technologies. Its purpose is to ensure that all advertisements served via PubMatic maintain the highest levels of quality, user experience, brand safety, and regulatory compliance.

    This policy applies to all advertisers, agencies, demand-side platforms (DSPs), and other partners (each, a “Demand Partner”) that purchase or serve advertisements via PubMatic’s proprietary platform. It complements PubMatic’s contractual terms, privacy requirements, and applicable laws and industry standards, including those set by the IAB, MRC, TAG, and the Coalition for Better Ads.

  2. Ad Behavior Standards
    1. General Requirements
      Demand Partners must ensure that all creatives served via PubMatic comply with the following requirements:

      1. Ads must not initiate full-page or app-store redirects without explicit user action.
      2. Ads must not auto-refresh after initial load or display multiple sequential messages without new user engagement.
      3. Ads must not spawn pop-ups, pop-unders, overlays, or any other elements that obscure publisher content.
      4. Ads must be free of viruses, malware, spyware, or any form of malicious code.
      5. Ads must not simulate or falsify user interaction, including false clicks or engagement metrics.
      6. Creative load time must not exceed three (3) seconds. Any creative exceeding 800KB in total file size requires PubMatic’s pre-approval.
    2. Brand Safety and Contextual Integrity
      PubMatic employs automated and human review processes to verify brand safety compliance. Demand Partners must ensure that:

      1. All creative content undergoes automated pre-bid scanning using AI and machine-learning technology to identify prohibited or unsafe content.
      2. Ads failing to meet PubMatic’s brand-safety thresholds may be blocked before delivery.
      3. Advertisers may configure brand-safety parameters through PubMatic’s interface or by written request.
  3. Content Standards
    1. Prohibited Content
      The following categories are strictly prohibited in all advertisements and landing pages:

      1. Adult sexual content, nudity, or sexually suggestive material.
      2. Graphic violence, weapons, or content promoting harm or injury.
      3. Hate speech or discriminatory content based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other protected categories.
      4. Illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia.
      5. Copyright-infringing or pirated content.
      6. Malware, deceptive links, or misleading claims.
      7. Content flagged by PubMatic’s automated brand-safety systems.
    2. Restricted Content

      3. Certain categories may be permitted only under strict conditions and local law:

      1. Gambling: Allowed only in jurisdictions where legal, with verified licenses and responsible-gaming disclosures.
      2. Alcohol: Subject to geographic and age-targeting restrictions.
      3. Cannabis and CBD: Permitted only in jurisdictions where legal, with “21+ Only” labeling and no unsubstantiated health claims.
    3. Political Advertising

      4. Political advertising includes any ad advocating for or against a candidate, political party, ballot initiative, or policy issue. Requirements include:

      1. A clear disclosure identifying the entity that paid for the ad.
      2. Enhanced advertiser verification prior to campaign activation.
      3. Prohibition on deepfake or AI-generated political content unless clearly labeled and compliant with applicable law.
      4. No violent, extremist, or discriminatory political content.
      5. Continuous monitoring of political creatives during campaign periods.
    4. Privacy and Child-Directed Content

      5. PubMatic enforces comprehensive global privacy compliance:

      1. COPPA: Ads on child-directed content (under age 13) must not involve behavioral targeting and must comply with U.S. COPPA regulations.
      2. GDPR: Processing of EU personal data must rely on a valid lawful basis, with transparent data-use disclosures and consent mechanisms.
      3. CCPA/CPRA: Partners must support opt-out rights, Do-Not-Sell mechanisms, and data-subject requests.
      4. Global Privacy: Compliance required under Brazil LGPD, Canada PIPEDA, and other regional laws.
      5. Partners must maintain privacy impact assessments and consent-management processes where applicable.
  4. Format-Specific Requirements
    1. Display Advertising
      1. Creatives must conform to IAB ad specifications and Coalition for Better Ads standards.
      2. Excessive flashing, audio on load, or misleading UI elements are prohibited.
    2. Video Advertising
      1. Ads must comply with IAB VAST/VPAID standards, accurately declaring all creative attributes.
      2. File size limits apply per placement; all video must render within publisher latency thresholds.
      3. Completion-rate optimization and viewability monitoring are required for quality assurance.
    3. Connected TV (CTV)
      1. Creatives must be provided in both SD and HD (minimum 720x480p at 30fps).
      2. File sizes may not exceed 800KB without prior approval.
      3. CTV ads must comply with publisher-specified rating and genre restrictions.
    4. Native Advertising
      1. Native creatives must include clear and visible disclosures such as “Ad,” “Sponsored,” or “Promoted.”
      2. Native content must be clearly distinguishable from editorial material.
  5. Bid Response and Data Disclosure
    1. Each bid response must include a valid creative ID, buyer seat ID, and final landing page URL. Landing Page URL declared in the bid response should be actual & related to the advertiser & not spoofed, the declared landing Page & actual landing page should be the same.
    2. All bid responses must accurately identify the advertiser and any intermediaries.
    3. Reselling or arbitrage without explicit disclosure is prohibited.
    4. Partners must maintain accurate mappings between creative IDs and advertisers.
  6. Enforcement and Reporting
    1. Enforcement
      PubMatic reserves the right to:

      1. Suspend, reject, or remove any ad creative that violates this policy.
      2. Require corrective action or written remediation plans for policy breaches.
      3. Terminate access for repeat or material violators.
    2. Reporting and Transparency
      1. Demand Partners must disclose all inventory sources and provide performance metrics upon request.
      2. Partners must report any confirmed policy violations or data incidents within twenty-four (24) hours.
      3. PubMatic conducts monthly compliance audits and reserves the right to share summary metrics with publishers and regulators.
    3. Audits and Certification
      PubMatic may require periodic certification, documentation, or third-party verification demonstrating adherence to this policy. Partners must cooperate with all reasonable audit requests.
  7. Exceptions and Review
    Exception requests must be submitted in writing and include justification, creative materials, and supporting documentation. Approval of any exception does not waive compliance obligations or liability for resulting violations.

    Demand Partners remain responsible for all non-compliance, including indemnification of PubMatic and its publishers for any resulting damages, penalties, or reputational harm.

    PubMatic reviews this policy at least semi-annually. Updates will be published with effective dates clearly noted.

  8. Contact Information
    Questions about this policy or quality-related matters may be directed to:

    PubMatic Ad Quality Team
    Email: AdQualityOps [at] pubmatic.com