Adtraction has launched Fair tracking, a new initiative designed to address the persistent problem of lost attribution caused by consent and browser restrictions.
The impact of consent on affiliate and partner marketing has been a major point of discussion in recent years.
Affiliate tracking should generally be considered essential, since users seek rewards and partners seek attribution. But, very often, it gets blocked with all other kinds of cookies when a user does not consent to tracking permissions on a site.
Adtraction says that the imbalance is eroding trust across the channel.
“Privacy-first is here to stay, but partners still need to be paid for the value they create,” says Simon Gustafson, Founder and CEO at Adtraction. “When partners are not rewarded because traditional tracking fails, it puts the whole ecosystem at risk. That’s a problem we need to solve, while still respecting consumers' privacy choices and privacy regulations.”
Fair tracking is Adtraction’s response. The initiative focuses on fair and transparent partner compensation when traditional tracking breaks down.
In its first phase, Fair tracking uses probabilistic models based on aggregated platform data to estimate untracked conversions. These estimates are combined with hybrid compensation setups to help close tracking gaps without bypassing consent or regulation.
It’s a similar initiative to Awin’s CPI, launched at PI LIVE Europe in 2024.
By pairing compliant technology with clearer compensation models, Adtraction aims to protect trust between brands and partners while preserving the channel’s performance-based foundation.
“Others in the industry, such as Awin, have already started addressing parts of this challenge,” Gustafson adds. “We see Fair tracking as our contribution. That said, this isn’t something one or two networks can solve on their own. For partner marketing to work long term, fairness around tracking needs to be a shared responsibility.”
Fair tracking is now rolling out across Adtraction’s platform, with early feedback from brands and partners described as positive. More components are planned as privacy and tracking rules continue to evolve.
