LiveRamp

Overview

LiveRamp is a marketing identity resolution and data connectivity platform that enables publishers, advertisers, and data platforms to recognize users across sites, devices, and channels without relying on third-party cookies. Its Authenticated Traffic Solution (ATS) is deployed on publisher sites to capture hashed email identifiers from authenticated users (logged-in visitors) and resolve them to RampIDs — persistent pseudonymous identifiers that function across the programmatic advertising ecosystem. LiveRamp also operates a data marketplace connecting first-party audience data to activation channels.

What This Script Does

LiveRamp's ATS script loads from ats.rlcdn.com and activates when a user performs an authentication action on the publisher or advertiser site:

Email hashing and RampID resolution

• Activates when a user logs in, submits a newsletter signup, or otherwise provides their email address on the host site
• Captures the email address, hashes it using SHA-256, and sends the hash to LiveRamp's servers at ats.rlcdn.com
• LiveRamp resolves the hashed email to a RampID — a persistent, portable pseudonymous identifier that persists across sites and devices where the same email is authenticated
• The RampID is returned and stored in a first-party cookie on the publisher domain for use in bid requests

Programmatic advertising integration

• The RampID stored in the first-party cookie is passed to SSPs and DSPs in OpenRTB bid requests as a user identifier
• Enables addressable advertising without third-party cookies — critical as browsers phase out third-party cookie support
• Demand-side platforms that subscribe to LiveRamp's identity graph can resolve the RampID to match it against their own user data for targeting

Publisher and advertiser data connectivity

• LiveRamp's data marketplace allows publishers to share first-party audience segments (anonymized, RampID-keyed) with advertiser buyers
• Advertisers can onboard their CRM data (hashed email lists) into LiveRamp for matching against publisher audiences

Consent & Compliance

• Category: Marketing
• GDPR: Requires explicit consent. LiveRamp ATS captures email addresses (personal data under GDPR) and creates persistent cross-site advertising identifiers. This is a high-sensitivity data operation — it involves linking authenticated user identity to programmatic advertising, which requires explicit consent under GDPR. IAB TCF purposes: Purpose 1 (Store/access information), Purpose 3 (Create personalised ads profile), Purpose 4 (Select personalised ads). LiveRamp is a registered IAB TCF vendor (Vendor ID 97).
• Data transfers: LiveRamp is a US company headquartered in San Francisco. Data is processed in the US and EU. LiveRamp participates in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and offers EU data processing infrastructure.
• Sensitivity: LiveRamp ATS involves sending email hashes to an advertising identity graph, which constitutes sharing personal data with a data broker for advertising purposes. This should be prominently disclosed in the privacy policy, not merely listed in a cookie table.
• Cookies set: _lr_env (1st party, RampID storage, 1 year), _lr_retry_request (1st party, session)

Should You Block This Without Consent?

Yes — with marketing consent only. LiveRamp ATS requires explicit marketing consent. It should not activate until a visitor has consented to advertising purposes. For IAB TCF deployments, LiveRamp Vendor ID 97 must have valid consent before the ATS script resolves email hashes or stores RampIDs. This is one of the more privacy-sensitive scripts in the martech stack — treat it accordingly in your consent implementation.