7 Best ID Alternative Tools to Protect Your Online Privacy

Since I’m deeply involved with the digital marketing industry, I’ve witnessed the evolution that online user identification has gone through over the years as well as the rise of ID alternative tools.

The post below goes over the purpose, functionality, and selection of various tools that allow you to alternate the identification process, as they are slowly taking over previous identifiers like cookies.

Learn how you can benefit from these solutions to stay on top of the ever-changing landscape of internet privacy and digital marketing.

The need for standardized ID tools in the world of web-based advertising is explained by multiple factors:

1. User identification is important for publishers to boost profitability, advertisers to improve the results of their campaigns, and businesses to sell their products or services.
2. Even though smartphones have persistent IDs, browsers aren’t equipped with such functionality, which is why third-party cookies were created in the first place.
3. Cookies are blocked or removed by an ever-growing number of browsers and plugins, significantly disrupting the identification process.
4. Cross-domain cookie access intricacies make the ID process more challenging.
5. Cookie synchronization and monitoring can be resource-heavy and slow.
6. Cookie synchronization isn’t always reliable and accurate.
7. Walled environments such as Google and Facebook utilize deterministic data, inviting more and more advertisers and publishers.
8. Third-party cookie IDs are slowly going extinct, encouraging the discovery of alternative ID solutions.
9. The evolution of mobile devices shines a light on similar ID issues, especially when it comes to Apple's IDFA restrictions.
10. The industry requires universal ID tools to take on the daunting online advertising challenges faced by advertising agencies.

Verdict: Surfshark Alternative ID is a handy solution that allows me to hide my sensitive information when browsing the internet. It can be used to create a “secret” identity with a fake name, age, email, and address that I fill in when dealing with various forms and websites.

The most appealing part of Surfshark ONE is that it doesn’t deal with spam filters or anything of the sort. Instead, it simply transfers all the emails to my actual email address, ensuring I don’t miss anything relevant.

This tool helps ensure my email address and real name aren’t exposed to the hundreds of data brokering networks around the world. Not only do I not receive spam, but I can also rest assured my private information isn’t sold and shared all around the web.

Key features:

• Online privacy is very important to me, so I highly value the provided protection by data brokers. It ensures my sensitive information remains private and I don’t have to worry about data leaks when browsing the web.
• This solution prevents me from seeing annoying and irrelevant advertisements that ruin my browsing experience. As such, I only see ads that might be useful for me.
• I’ve noticed firsthand how Surfshark’s Alternative ID is allowing me to make better purchasing choices. It offers insights and suggestions based on my preferences, securing a more time- and cost-efficient shopping experience.

Price: starting at 2.49 euro/mo

Verdict: After testing LiveRamp's ID tool, I can guarantee its efficiency. You can view it as a "people-based map" that smartly pairs de-identified offline activities with online devices. I was particularly in awe of its huge US device database, which is continuously being expanded while adhering to all ethical standards.

My personal experience has shown how impressively interoperable this tool is. I can conveniently integrate it with different ID systems, including ones from huge corporations like Google and Facebook, as well as various ISPs and marketplaces. After you establish an ID, it will seamlessly synchronize all cookies to provide complete DSP alignment.

Key features:

• Thanks to offline PII merging, I was able to conveniently combine emails and phone numbers into one identity. It’s a fantastic feature for simplifying communication and personalization across several digital environments.
• Since I frequently use multiple devices myself, I greatly enjoyed the ability to link them to create a person-based anonymous identifier. As a result, you can enjoy a seamless web-browsing experience while preserving your anonymity.
• This unified and privacy-minded ID solution has won me over with its capability to combine offline and online identity markers into a single secure and protected environment.

Price: by request

Verdict: After trying this alternative ID tool, I concluded that it’s a fantastic privacy-focused option that is perfect for the CTV, web, and mobile environments. It stands out thanks to its employment of first-party graphing tech, which establishes seamless connections between device identifiers, behaviors, and privacy settings without involving regular cookies.

I was greatly appreciative of the developers’ intent to comply with all privacy regulations. This privacy management software provides a universal opt-out feature, which allows me to ensure my privacy preferences are adhered to across all my devices.

Additionally, this tool offers a wide range of partnerships, boasting a network of over 90 platforms and collecting data from 180 providers around the world.

Key features:

• When employing a private onboarding passcode, I witnessed an additional layer of security that was applied to the onboarding process.
• Having to handle several virtual systems, I’ve noticed that Panorama ID streamlines the process of introducing changes to different systems that share a firewall, reducing the amount of time and effort I have to dedicate to them.
• The availability of a special master key for managed firewalls introduces an additional layer of control and protection. It makes sure that only authorized users can introduce critical changes, minimizing the risk of tampering.

Price: by request

Verdict: After trying out SharedID, I think it’s well-suited to be used as a centralized repository for first-party data. In contrast to competing ID alternative tools, SharedID restricts cross-website monitoring to the publisher's domain. As such, it’s a good fit for tech-savvy publishers with limited resources who want to share the collected information with DSPs.

The identification process starts with the publishers embedding SharedID as a first-party value. After a user ID is created and filled with corresponding data, publishers offer access to bidders or employ the created ID as a source of self-declared first-party data that doesn’t require a third-party identifier to function.

Key features:

• My experience shows that the community-owned nature of this tool guarantees that all transparency standards are met, fostering a trust-based relationship between users and shareholders.
• When testing this option, I liked the offered balance of first-party and third-party elements. The first-party element allows publishers to manage the accessibility of user IDs to bidders, granting an increased level of flexibility and control.
• This tool’s structure makes cookie synchronization completely unnecessary. As such, I’ve noticed decreased page loading times and an improved overall user experience, as well as superior data consistency and dependability.

Price: from $6,000 annually

Verdict: After using UID 2.0, originally created by The Trade Desk and now co-run with Prebid.org, I was pleased with its functionality. By collecting user emails, this data management platform creates personalized advertisements, improving cross-website reach and optimizing advertisement targeting and analytics.

This collaboration is fruitful for both publishers and advertisers, as it facilitates more accurate ad placements and generates encrypted IDs for seamless matching in the bidding system. This tool has a decentralized structure that is a good fit for publishers and advertisers of all sizes, allowing them to benefit from encrypted ID matching while reaching an enormous database of user emails.

Key features:

• I’ve witnessed how this tool allows advertisers to accurately reach their target audience, helping them run highly efficient campaigns and improve their ROI.
• Unified ID 2.0 allows me to control the frequency of displayed advertisements to avoid overexposure and guarantee the end user doesn’t have a negative impression of my brand.
• I’ve seen how this solution offers comprehensive targeting functionality and advanced statistical tools, enabling advertisers to evaluate campaign efficiency and optimize their marketing approach when needed.

Price: open source

Verdict: After trying ConnectID, I was positively stunned by its main feature - Yahoo's large user base that includes over 500 million unique accounts and a mind-blowing 200 billion daily cross-screen user intent actions. That being said, this tool is limited to Yahoo's DSP, providing audience activation and media evaluation across different channels.

I think this tool is primarily aimed at publishers and advertisers with a lot of resources and direct user relationships, particularly those interested in utilizing outsourcing to simplify ID matching. It’s a cutting-edge solution, but only for those who have the resources needed to take full advantage of the provided functionality.

Key features:

• During my time with ConnectID, I noticed that it relies on data gathered after receiving the consent of each user, guaranteeing compliance with privacy regulations and establishing a trust-based relationship with the end users.
• This solution employs long-term identifiers and fact-checked information, providing a more in-depth understanding of client behavior and tastes.
• My experience suggests that ConnectID has a unified approach to establishing connections with target audiences, cultivating a more efficient and coherent marketing strategy.

Price: by request

Verdict: After using ID5 ID for a while, I concluded that it’s the perfect tool for publishers. It represents an encryption-backed first-party data ID, equipping publishers with a unique device ID that can be shared with partners and customers.

What helps this privacy tool for Windows 10 and other platforms stand out is its privacy-oriented backend.

ID5 demands that all browsers and apps that utilize it need to openly disclose the performed data-gathering process to its users. Moreover, consumers have a right to opt out of the data collection and advantage of do-not-sell signals to adjust their preferences related to the functioning of ID5 on specific platforms.

I think this is a technologically advanced and ethically sound tool that is highly efficient at managing sensitive user information.

Key features:

• My experience shows that this solution is incredible at identifying users in different digital marketing spaces, improving monetization potential for publishers and advertisers alike.
• When testing ID5 ID, I’ve noticed that it makes data leaks impossible by limiting user IDs to only authorized parties. As such, you can rest assured the user’s data remains protected and undisclosed.

Price: by request