Blacklight searched 2 pages on
gizmodo.com at 29th September 2026 20:22 ET.
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Blacklight works by visiting each website with a headless browser running custom software built by The Markup. To learn more, read our methodology.
Websites containing advertising tracking technology load JavaScript code or small invisible images that are used to either build your advertising profile or to identify you for ad targeting on this site. These techniques are often used in addition to cookies to profile you.,Blacklight detected trackers on this page sending data to companies involved in online advertising. Blacklight detected scripts belonging to Improve Digital BV, 33Across, Inc., and eleven other companies.
These are commonly used by advertising tracking companies to profile you based on your internet usage.,Blacklight detected 165 third-party cookies on this site. Blacklight detected cookies set for Tappcelator Media S.L., Knorex Pte. Ltd. and and fifty-eight others
This site uses Google Analytics and seems to use its ”remarketing audiences” feature that enables user tracking for targeted advertising across the internet. This feature allows a website to build custom audiences based on how a user interacts with this particular site and then follow those users across the internet and target them with advertising on other sites using Google Ads and Display & Video 360. A Google spokesperson told The Markup that site operators are supposed to inform visitors when data collected with this feature is used to connect this browsing data with someone’s real-world identity. You know when those shoes you were looking at follow you around the internet? This is one of the trackers leading to that. This feature appeared in fifty percent of popular websites when we scanned them in September 2020.
The inspected website contacted some well known actors in the ad-tech industry. Not all of these loaded trackers, so they may be different from those listed in the tests section above. For more information on each company, what it does, and which of its domains Blacklight found during the inspection, click the arrow. Reading this can give you a better idea of how the ad-tech industry works.
Blacklight detected this website sending user data to Alphabet, the technology conglomerate that encompasses Google and associated companies like Nest. The Silicon Valley giant collects data from twice the number of websites as its closest competitor, Facebook. An Alphabet spokesperson told The Markup that internet users can go here if they want to opt out of the company showing them targeted ads based on their browsing history. ,The site sent information to the following domains 2mdn.net, doubleclick.net, google.com, googleapis.com, googlesyndication.com, googletagmanager.com.
Blacklight detected the inspected website sending user data to Comscore, a company that monitors traffic on millions of websites to create market research data on how people use the internet, which it sells to advertisers, according to The Guardian. The company’s analytics also incorporate user data collected from its dozens of corporate partners, such as Facebook, Oracle, and Salesforce, according to its own website. Representatives from Comscore did not respond to multiple requests for comment. , The site sent information to the following domain scorecardresearch.com.
Blacklight detected the inspected website sending user data to the advertising technology company Criteo, which a company spokesperson told The Markup specializes in what are called “retargeting campaigns,” targeting advertisements across the internet at people who have already visited the advertiser's digital properties. Decisions about which previous site visitors to target are made with profiles compiled by the company about consumers’ interests and previous shopping behavior. Speaking in July 2020, CEO Megan Clarken said that the company had data on “2.5 billion unique users globally, of which 98 percent had persistent identifiers beyond cookies.” , The site sent information to the following domain criteo.com.
Blacklight detected the inspected website sending user data to the ad tech company IPONWEB. The company’s Bidswitch subsidiary functions as an interchange between the platforms where publishers sell advertising space and the platforms where advertisers buy ads. An IPONWEB spokesperson told The Markup that the company also builds bespoke online platforms for other companies involved in digital advertising. Digiday called IPONWEB’s founder “the Godfather of Ad Tech.”, The site sent information to the following domain bidswitch.net.
Blacklight detected the inspected website sending user data to LiveRamp. Using its own, unique identifier for each individual, LiveRamp verifies that data held by Company A is about the same person as the data held by Company B. LiveRamp also operates a Data Store, where advertisers can purchase datasets, like this one, about consumers from LiveRamp’s corporate partners. , The site sent information to the following domain pippio.com.
Blacklight detected the inspected website sending user data to Lotame. Lotame operates a warehouse of user information, including the different devices likely used by a person, that marketers can append to user profiles they’ve assembled. The company also operates what it says is the world’s largest marketplace where companies can directly buy and sell user data. In 2017, a Lotame executive told DMN that the company had four billion user profiles. Representatives from Lotame did not respond to multiple requests for comment., The site sent information to the following domain crwdcntrl.net.
Blacklight detected the inspected website sending user data to MediaMath. MediaMath runs a “demand-side platform,” which lets advertisers place ads on sites across the internet through an online portal. The company assembles profiles based on the user's previous browsing history. The company allows advertisers to target people or websites based on “aggregated, observed data on what users are browsing” on sites across the internet. A MediaMath spokesperson told The Markup that the company’s service also allows advertisers to combine their data about potential customers with information collected by other ad tech companies and data brokers for more accurate ad targeting. , The site sent information to the following domain mathtag.com.
Blacklight detected the inspected website sending user data to OpenX, an online advertising exchange. Ad exchanges are online marketplaces where advertisers can bid against each other to place ads on various websites. OpenX specializes in real-time bidding, according to its website, which is when ads are targeted at individual web users based on profiles assembled about their demographics and prior behavior. It also says on its website that ads placed by the exchange reach more than 240 million U.S. consumers each month. Representatives from OpenX did not respond to multiple requests for comment., The site sent information to the following domain openx.net.
Blacklight detected the inspected website sending user data to the online advertising company Pubmatic. Pubmatic is a portal for site operators to offer space on their website for sale to advertisers. The company also runs an “identity hub” that, a PubMatic spokesperson told The Markup, helps advertisers use the data they’ve acquired from a third party— a data broker, for example—to target ads to the specific interests of someone visiting a website. , The site sent information to the following domain pubmatic.com.
Blacklight detected the inspected website sending user data to Magnite. Created by the 2020 merger of ad tech companies Rubicon Project and Telaria, Magnite places advertisements on more than million websites and apps. The company claims to have reached more than a billion consumers with ads placed on websites, mobile apps, and streaming videos. Representatives from Magnite did not respond to multiple requests for comment., The site sent information to the following domain rubiconproject.com.
Blacklight detected the inspected website sending user data to Sovrn, which helps publishers monetize "affiliate links". When a user clicks on a link and then buys the product or service, the site operator gets a cut of the proceeds. A Sovrn spokesperson told The Markup that its tracking technology is used to ensure the site operators receive their commissions. Sovrn also assists site operators in selling advertisers the de-identified data the sites collect about visitors., The site sent information to the following domain lijit.com.
Blacklight detected the inspected website sending user data to Taboola, a company that places collections of suggested article links, along with some advertisements, on publishers’ pages in exchange for a direct payment, according to its website. Taboola’s “one weird trick” became derisively labeled as a “chumbox” for the low- and clickbait-quality of many of its links. Representatives from Taboola did not respond to multiple requests for comment., The site sent information to the following domain taboola.com.
Blacklight detected the inspected website sending user data to Tower Data, an ad tech company that creates profiles of web users anchored to their email address, according to its website. It also sells data about voters to political campaigns. Representatives from Tower Data did not respond to multiple requests for comment., The site sent information to the following domain rlcdn.com.
Blacklight detected the inspected website sending user data to Verizon. While best known for providing cellphone and broadband service, Verizon has gained a significant presence in online advertising through acquisitions of ad-focused companies like AOL and Yahoo!, which offer advertising services in addition to content. Domains associated with Yahoo! and AOL (specifically, advertising.com, which was part of AOL before Verizon’s purchase of the company) appeared the most frequently among the many Verizon-controlled trackers appearing in our scan of popular websites in September 2020. Representatives from Verizon did not respond to multiple requests for comment., The site sent information to the following domain yahoo.com.
Blacklight detected the inspected website sending user data to WPP, the largest advertising company on the planet. A WPP spokesperson told The Markup that the company’s more than a dozen subsidiaries help brands plan, execute, and analyze their media strategies. Fun fact: WPP used to stand for Wire and Plastic Products because the company began as a manufacturer of wire baskets and teapots., The site sent information to the following domain w55c.net.
Blacklight detected this website sending user data to the digital marketing company Zeta Global. Zeta’s products include Disqus, a platform for hosting and moderating user comments that frequently introduces a bevy of third-party trackers on websites. The company also runs a service allowing advertisers to combine their data about potential customers with information purchased from data brokers or other ad tech companies to target ads. It also runs a platform on which advertisers can buy advertising space on websites. ,The site sent information to the following domains rezync.com, rfihub.com.
Blacklight results should not be taken as the final word on potential privacy violations by a given website. Rather, they should be treated as an initial automated inspection that requires further investigation before a definitive claim can be made.