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Adform is a Danish advertising technology platform offering DSP, SSP and DMP capabilities for programmatic advertising across the open web.
Adform is a Danish advertising technology company headquartered in Copenhagen that operates an integrated buy side and sell side platform. Publishers use the SSP to monetise inventory, advertisers use the DSP to buy programmatic media, and both sides rely on a shared data management layer for audience segmentation and measurement. Because Adform is established in the EU, its core data centres are in the European Union, but the open web bidding ecosystem still involves many downstream partners, some of which operate outside the EEA.
Adform places a first party or third party identifier (commonly the uid cookie on adform.net), supports server side ID solutions such as the Adform ID Fusion, and reads or writes a range of supporting cookies for frequency capping, attribution and bid throttling. On mobile in app traffic, the platform processes hashed device identifiers and IP address. These identifiers, alone or combined, qualify as personal data under GDPR.
Storing or reading identifiers on a user terminal for advertising purposes triggers Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive, which requires prior informed consent. Subsequent profiling, audience building and cross site measurement are processing activities subject to GDPR. Publishers act as data controllers for the deployment on their own properties, and Adform typically acts as a data controller or joint controller for its own platform operations, with contractual roles formalised in a data processing addendum.
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Valid consent must be specific, informed, freely given and as easy to withdraw as to give. In practice this means a Consent Management Platform integrated with the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF v2.2), since Adform is a registered TCF vendor. The CMP must block Adform tags and the uid cookie until consent is granted, and must transmit the TC string so that bid requests downstream reflect the user choice.
Adform itself processes primary data in the EU, which is a strong point compared with US based ad tech. However, programmatic bid requests can reach demand partners established outside the EEA. Publishers should rely on Standard Contractual Clauses, document the supplementary measures, and ensure their vendor list reflects realistic global reach. Where US partners are activated, the EU US Data Privacy Framework can offer an additional transfer mechanism when the recipient is certified.
Block Adform until the user has consented, document the cookies in your privacy notice, maintain an up to date Record of Processing Activities, sign the Adform data processing addendum, run a DPIA covering profiling and audience activation, and audit the downstream vendor list at least twice per year. Provide a simple withdrawal mechanism and honour data subject access and erasure requests in cooperation with Adform.
Websites using Adform must obtain user consent under GDPR regulations.
DPIA considerations
A DPIA is strongly recommended given systematic monitoring across websites, profiling for advertising purposes, large volumes of identifiers and potential international transfers. Document data flows between publisher, Adform DSP/SSP and downstream partners, define retention, and assess the impact on data subject rights including objection and access.
Sample consent text
We use Adform to deliver and measure advertising, including identifiers stored on your device. You can accept all, reject all, or set preferences in our cookie banner.
Third-party domains contacted
adform.nettrack.adform.neta1.adform.netdmp.adform.nets1.adform.netCookies placed
| Name | Type | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| uid | third_party | 60 days | Primary Adform user identifier used for advertising targeting, frequency capping and measurement. |
| C | third_party | 60 days | Indicates whether the user browser accepts cookies, used to control delivery of advertising creatives. |
| CM | third_party | 30 days | Cookie matching identifier used to synchronise the Adform ID with partner platforms. |
| TPC | third_party | 30 days | Tracks third party cookie acceptance for cross site advertising measurement. |
| GCM | third_party | session | Stores the latest consent signal forwarded by the publisher CMP for the current session. |
Adform places tracking cookies for advertising — comply with GDPR using FlowConsent.
Adform typically sets a uid identifier on the adform.net domain, along with supporting cookies for frequency capping, attribution and bid throttling. On mobile in app traffic, it processes hashed device IDs and IP address. All of these qualify as personal data under GDPR.
Yes. Because Adform stores and reads identifiers used for advertising, prior consent is mandatory under Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Adform tags and the uid cookie must be blocked until the user has actively agreed through a Consent Management Platform.
The primary legal basis is consent under Article 6(1)(a) GDPR, combined with the consent requirement of Article 5(3) ePrivacy. Legitimate interests is generally not acceptable for advertising profiling because of the impact on data subjects and the persistent monitoring across sites.
Adform processes primary data in the EU. However, the open auction process can route bid requests to demand partners located outside the EEA, including in the United States. Publishers must rely on Standard Contractual Clauses, document supplementary measures and check Data Privacy Framework certification where applicable.
In most cases yes. The combination of systematic monitoring across sites, profiling for advertising, large volumes of identifiers and potential international transfers triggers the criteria identified by the EDPB. A documented DPIA helps demonstrate accountability under Article 35 GDPR.
Integrate a TCF v2.2 certified CMP, block all Adform tags by default, transmit the TC string to downstream partners, sign the Adform data processing addendum, list Adform and its purposes transparently in your privacy notice, and keep the cookie list up to date.
EU based alternatives include Smart AdServer (Equativ), Xandr (now part of Microsoft, with EU regional options), and contextual advertising solutions that avoid storing identifiers. The right choice depends on inventory type and audience strategy.
List the Adform uid cookie and the supporting cookies with their purpose and duration, name Adform as a partner with a link to its privacy notice, indicate the possibility of transfers outside the EEA, and state how users can withdraw consent at any time.