Yesterday, Google announced the introduction of “confidential matching,” a new, security-focused way to connect an advertiser’s first-party data with their measurement and audience solutions. Confidential matching is powered by confidential computing — a new security approach that protects data during processing, at rest, and in transit — using special software and hardware known as Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs).
TEEs are secure enclaves where data is processed under encryption. They isolate data during processing, ensuring even Google can’t access it as it’s being handled. This means additional protections for that first-party data, which is, obviously, very valuable customer intel. This includes transparency into product code, so that advertisers can potentially audit the processes, and proof of intended data processing, or “attestation.” (Have I lost you yet?) Attestation is basically evidence that data was processed as agreed, without unauthorized access or changes. These features give advertisers more control and visibility over how their customer data is handled, enabling more trust through that transparency.
Why This Matters:
Now, some questions have popped up about how this differs from Google PAIR. While both confidential matching and PAIR enhance privacy, they seem to serve different functions. Confidential matching uses TEEs to securely process first-party data in protected areas, keeping it confidential so no one—including Google—can access it while it’s being processed. PAIR, on the other hand, works within DV360 to reconcile first-party data between publishers and advertisers. It creates encrypted IDs for personalized ad-targeting across devices without cookies, limiting their use to specific advertiser-publisher relationships. (I think I got that right, but sound off in the comments if not.)
Experts React:
The confidential matching launch also raised questions about how it might impact data clean room providers. (Hey, it’s like Google has a lot of power in the market, or something.) Data clean rooms are seeing more and more adoption. The IAB’s 2023 State of Data report found two-thirds of advertisers are currently using data clean rooms and adoption is only going to continue to grow.
In response to those questions, Lauren Wetzel, CEO of InfoSum, a top data clean room vendor, shared her thoughts on Twitter/X. Definitely worth a read.
She emphasizes the importance of managing permissions to prevent unauthorized data access or manipulation, highlighting this as InfoSum’s strength. “Data collaboration is what we do,” she says. “Any data, any cloud, any collaboration. We’ve had that privacy part down since day 1.”
Our Take:
All of this just highlights the fast-evolving landscape of PETs (privacy-enhancing technologies) in digital, especially as data privacy becomes more table stakes. As we said yesterday, data security is becoming more complicated and convoluted as advertisers operate globally and navigate a patchwork of data regulations. They’re also grappling with a more data-discerning consumer base.
In response, everyone is working to launch better and more comprehensive solutions. As big players like Google do this, data clean room and data collaboration providers can position themselves as flexible, interoperable alternatives. They can emphasize their ability to work across environments, while also maintaining compliance and privacy standards.
