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Outbrain

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Outbrain is a publicly listed native advertising platform (NASDAQ: OB) headquartered in New York and one of the two dominant content recommendation networks in the European media ecosystem (alongside Taboola). It serves sponsored content recommendations on major news publishers and uses third party cookies for retargeting and audience building.

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Overview

What does Outbrain do?

What is Outbrain?

Outbrain Inc. is a publicly listed native advertising company (NASDAQ: OB) founded in 2006 in Israel and now headquartered in New York. It operates one of the two dominant content recommendation networks in the global media ecosystem (alongside Taboola), with widgets embedded on major news publishers such as Le Figaro, Le Monde, BFM, Bild, Spiegel, El Pais, ABC and many regional outlets. Outbrain serves sponsored content recommendations that look like editorial content, charged on a pay per click basis. In 2024 Outbrain announced the acquisition of Teads, consolidating its position in European programmatic video advertising.

Cookies and data collected

Outbrain sets third party cookies on outbrain.com and outbrain.net: obuid (12 months) is the unique user identifier used for retargeting and audience building, _ouid (12 months) handles the cross publisher recognition, adrl (30 days) is the audience retargeting list cookie and recs_perm (6 months) stores the recommendation context. Outbrain also performs cookie syncing with bidding partners (AppNexus / Xandr, OpenX, PubMatic) to align user IDs across the Open RTB programmatic ecosystem, and reads page content for contextual targeting.

GDPR and ePrivacy compliance

The Outbrain widget and its advertising cookies require prior explicit consent under Article 5(3) ePrivacy Directive and Article 6(1)(a) GDPR. Legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f)) is not available for cross site behavioural advertising, as confirmed by the EDPB and the CNIL. The CMP must block the Outbrain widget before consent and forward the IAB TCF v2.2 string. The CNIL has clarified that native content recommendation that looks like editorial content can amount to a dark pattern when it is not clearly identified as advertising.

Data transfers

Outbrain processes data in the US, the EU and Israel. Israel benefits from a European Commission adequacy decision since 2011 (renewed in 2024), so the Israel leg does not require additional safeguards. For the US leg, Outbrain relies on the EU US Data Privacy Framework (certified) and the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (2021/914). A Schrems II transfer impact assessment is recommended for sensitive deployments.

How to implement Outbrain correctly

Tag the Outbrain widget through a CMP (Didomi, Iubenda, Axeptio, CookieFirst, Usercentrics, Klaro) and block it before consent. Activate the IAB TCF v2.2 integration and forward the TCF string to Outbrain. Label sponsored content clearly to comply with the CNIL dark patterns guidance and the Digital Services Act transparency requirements. Keep proof of consent for 13 months minimum and document the Outbrain DPA, the US and Israel transfer mechanisms in the record of processing activities.

Compliance

Outbrain and the GDPR

Outbrain is classified as “Marketing”. On a site that targets European visitors, it must only load after the visitor consents, and it must be listed in your cookie policy.

Legal basis
Prior explicit consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR and Article 5(3) ePrivacy Directive). Outbrain widgets set advertising cookies, build behavioural profiles and run programmatic retargeting; legitimate interest is not available under EDPB and CNIL guidance.
Risk level
high
Applicable regulations
GDPR, ePrivacy Directive 2002/58/EC, CNIL guidelines on cookies and dark patterns, German TDDDG, Spanish LSSI, Italian Codice Privacy, IAB TCF v2.2

Impact assessment (DPIA)

Outbrain native advertising is high risk processing: large scale behavioural profiling, cross border data sharing with bidding partners, retargeting that affects data subjects. A DPIA is strongly recommended. Document the consent flow, the IAB TCF vendor registration, the US and Israel transfer mechanisms and the contractual relationship with Outbrain Inc.

Sample text for your banner

We use Outbrain to display sponsored content recommendations tailored to your interests. Outbrain Inc. sets third party cookies that identify your browser across publishers and build an advertising profile. The widget only loads after you click accept on the advertising category. Data is processed under EU US Data Privacy Framework and Standard Contractual Clauses.
Cookies and trackers

What Outbrain sets and contacts

Tracking method
JavaScript widget served from widgets.outbrain.com displaying native content recommendations. Third party cookies (obuid, _ouid, adrl) used for user identification, frequency capping and retargeting. Conversion pixel for performance campaigns. Cookie syncing with bidding partners.
Server location
United States and European Union. Outbrain Inc. is publicly listed (NASDAQ: OB), headquartered in New York with major engineering centres in Israel and Ljubljana (Slovenia) and European offices in Paris, London, Berlin, Munich and Madrid.
Data transferred outside the EU
Outbrain operates a global infrastructure across the US, the EU and Israel. Israel benefits from a European Commission adequacy decision since 2011 (renewed in 2024). For the US transfer, Outbrain relies on the EU US Data Privacy Framework and the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (2021/914).

Cookies set (4)

NameTypeDurationPurpose
obuidthird_party12 monthsUnique user identifier on outbrain.com used for retargeting, audience building and frequency capping across publishers.
_ouidthird_party12 monthsCross publisher recognition cookie that links sessions on different sites running the Outbrain widget.
adrlthird_party30 daysAudience retargeting list cookie used to assign a visitor to a campaign segment for short term retargeting.
recs_permthird_party6 monthsRecommendation context cookie storing the latest read articles to compute the next recommendation slate.

Third-party domains contacted (4)

  • widgets.outbrain.com
  • amplifyobpxl.outbrain.com
  • log.outbrain.com
  • tr.outbrain.com
Questions

Frequently asked questions about Outbrain

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Which cookies does Outbrain set?

Outbrain sets third party cookies obuid (12 months) for the user ID, _ouid (12 months) for cross publisher recognition, adrl (30 days) for retargeting and recs_perm (6 months) for the recommendation context. Outbrain also performs cookie syncing with Open RTB bidding partners.

Do users have to consent to Outbrain?

Yes. Outbrain widgets set advertising cookies and run cross site behavioural profiling. Explicit prior consent under Article 6(1)(a) GDPR and Article 5(3) ePrivacy is required; legitimate interest is not available, as confirmed by the CNIL and the EDPB.

What is the legal basis for using Outbrain?

Only consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR). The CNIL and EDPB have confirmed that behavioural advertising and cross site profiling cannot rely on legitimate interest.

Does Outbrain transfer data to the United States?

Yes, plus to Israel. Israel benefits from a Commission adequacy decision; the US transfer relies on the EU US Data Privacy Framework (Outbrain is certified) and EU Standard Contractual Clauses (2021/914). A Schrems II transfer impact assessment is recommended.

Is a DPIA required for Outbrain?

Yes. Native advertising with behavioural profiling at scale is a high risk processing activity (Article 35 GDPR, EDPB list). Document the consent flow, the IAB TCF vendor registration, the US and Israel transfer mechanisms and the dark pattern mitigation.

How do I implement Outbrain correctly?

Block the widget in a CMP, activate IAB TCF v2.2, transmit the TCF string, label sponsored content clearly to comply with CNIL dark pattern guidance and DSA transparency, keep the consent proof 13 months and document the DPA.

What are the alternatives to Outbrain?

Native advertising alternatives include Taboola (the main competitor), Ligatus (Germany, now part of Outbrain), ADYOULIKE (France), Plista (Germany), Yahoo Native, and contextual platforms like Seedtag (Spain). Privacy first option: first party content recommendation engines on your own infrastructure.

How do I keep my cookie policy up to date?

List Outbrain Inc. as a third party advertising processor, link to https://www.outbrain.com/privacy, declare the IAB TCF vendor registration, document the US Data Privacy Framework certification and update the cookie list when Outbrain changes its tag.

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