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AdRecover is an ad block recovery service, part of the AdPushup and Zelto group, operating from the United States and India. It detects visitors who use ad blockers and serves them ad block friendly advertising, recovering revenue that would otherwise be lost. As advertising technology it sets advertising cookies and shares data with ad partners, so it requires advertising consent and involves transfers outside the European Union.
AdRecover is an ad block recovery service that forms part of the AdPushup and Zelto group, operating from the United States and India. Its purpose is to detect visitors who run ad blockers and to serve them advertising that passes through the blocker, so publishers can recover revenue that would otherwise be lost. It is advertising technology rather than analytics. In practice it works alongside ad partners and the wider advertising supply chain.
AdRecover detects the presence of an ad blocker and then sets advertising cookies, such as an advertising identifier, and shares data with ad partners so that ads can be selected and measured. This processing typically involves a unique identifier, device and browser signals and information about the pages viewed. Because the data is used to deliver and measure advertising across partners, it constitutes advertising and profiling activity. That places it firmly outside the category of strictly necessary processing.
The ePrivacy rules require prior consent before advertising cookies are read or written, under art. 5(3). The GDPR then governs the advertising and profiling that follow. Detecting an ad blocker and serving advertising is an advertising purpose, so it cannot rely on legitimate interest in most cases and needs consent. Where the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework is used, the consent signal should be captured and passed to AdRecover and its partners.
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The lawful basis is consent under art. 6(1)(a) of the GDPR, paired with ePrivacy consent for advertising cookies. Consent must be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous, and refusing must be as easy as accepting. AdRecover and its partner tags should load only after the visitor accepts the advertising category. If a visitor declines, no advertising cookie should be set and no ad block recovery should run.
AdRecover processes data in the United States and India, so transfers outside the EEA take place. United States transfers can rely on the EU US Data Privacy Framework where the recipient is certified, or otherwise on the EU Standard Contractual Clauses. India is not covered by an adequacy decision, so transfers there rely on the Standard Contractual Clauses together with a transfer impact assessment. You should map these flows and document the safeguards in your records.
Gate AdRecover behind your consent management platform so it and its partner tags fire only after advertising consent. Disclose the advertising cookies and partners in your cookie policy, and explain the transfers to the United States and India. Sign the data processing agreement, confirm the transfer safeguards, and given the higher risk profile complete a DPIA. Review the partner list regularly and respect every refusal across the whole chain.
Websites using AdRecover must obtain user consent under GDPR regulations.
DPIA considerations
AdRecover carries higher risk because it combines ad blocker detection, advertising cookies, data sharing with ad partners and transfers outside the EEA. A DPIA is strongly recommended. Assess profiling for advertising, the partner ecosystem, the legal grounds for United States and India transfers, and how consent or refusal is respected before any tracking or ad serving begins.
Sample consent text
We work with AdRecover to show advertising to visitors who use ad blockers. With your consent, AdRecover and its advertising partners set cookies and process data, including transfers to the United States and India, to detect ad blocking and serve ads. You can accept or decline, and withdraw consent at any time in our cookie settings.
Third-party domains contacted
adrecover.comcdn.adrecover.comstatic.adrecover.comadpushup.comCookies placed
| Name | Type | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| adr_uid | advertising | persistent (up to 1 year) | AdRecover advertising identifier used to detect ad blocking and to select and measure ads served to the visitor. |
| adr_session | advertising | session | Session cookie used to manage ad block recovery within a single visit. |
| partner_ad | advertising | persistent (varies by partner) | Partner advertising cookies set through AdRecover by ad partners to select, frequency cap and measure advertising. |
AdRecover places tracking cookies for advertising — comply with GDPR using FlowConsent.
AdRecover sets advertising cookies, including an advertising identifier such as adr_uid, and it works alongside partner ad cookies. These store a unique identifier and advertising signals used to detect ad blocking and to select and measure ads. They are advertising cookies, not strictly necessary ones.
Yes. Advertising cookies require prior consent under ePrivacy art. 5(3), and detecting an ad blocker to serve ads is an advertising purpose that needs consent under the GDPR. AdRecover and its partner tags should fire only after the visitor accepts the advertising category.
The lawful basis is consent under art. 6(1)(a) of the GDPR, combined with ePrivacy consent for the advertising cookies. Because the purpose is advertising and profiling with multiple partners, legitimate interest is generally not appropriate, so a valid opt in consent is required.
Yes. Data is processed in the United States and India. United States transfers rely on the EU US Data Privacy Framework or the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, while India transfers rely on the Standard Contractual Clauses together with a transfer impact assessment. These flows must be documented.
A DPIA is strongly recommended. AdRecover combines ad blocker detection, advertising cookies, data sharing with partners and transfers outside the EEA, which together create a higher risk profile. The assessment should cover profiling, the partner ecosystem and the transfer safeguards.
Gate AdRecover and all partner tags behind your consent management platform so they load only after advertising consent. Disclose the cookies, partners and transfers in your cookie policy, sign the data processing agreement, confirm the transfer safeguards and complete a DPIA. Honour refusals across the entire advertising chain.
Alternatives include other ad block recovery vendors, polite messaging that asks visitors to allowlist the site, subscription or paywall models, and contextual advertising that does not rely on tracking. Each option carries a different balance of revenue recovery, user experience and privacy risk.
List AdRecover as an advertising provider and name its advertising cookies, such as adr_uid, along with the partner cookies it enables. Describe the advertising and profiling purpose, the cookie lifetimes, and the transfers to the United States and India, and explain how visitors can refuse or withdraw consent.