Operator API

Endpoints

To support the Operator Design, a few endpoints are needed on the operator API.

These endpoints need to support both the "3PC" and "no 3PC" contexts.

where 3PC are available, a simple JS call is optimum
- in this case, we favour POST calls when data is mutated (data mutation == when a cookie is created or updated on Prebid SSO TLD+1 domain)
- return code is HTTP 200 and return type is JSON
where 3PC are not available, a full page redirect is required to read or write cookies on Prebid SSO TLD+1 domain
- in this context, POST is not possible
- return code is 302 with no content: data is part of the redirect URL

In practice, this will translate into endpoints available under different root paths. Example paths are specified in the last column of the table.

Endpoint	Input*	Output	Description	Notes	Rest	Redirect
Read data	-	List of IDs (if any). List of preferences (if any)	If ID 🍪 exist, return it. If preferences 🍪 exist, return them	-	GET /v1/json/read	GET /v1/redirect/read
Read data if exists, or return a new Id	-	List of IDs. List of preferences (if any)	If ID 🍪 exist, return it. Otherwise: create a new ID, sign it and return it. In this case, the new ID is not stored in a cookie yet.. If preferences 🍪 exist, return them	Why don't we save the newly generated ID? Because haven't yet received consent. The new ID will be saved as cookie, along with preferences, when it is provided via the "Write data" endpoint ⬇️	GET /v1/json/readOrGetNewId	GET /v1/redirect/readOrGetNewId
Write data. and return written data	main ID. preferences	List of IDs. List of preferences	Read provided ID. Verify provided signatures. Write ID 🍪. Write preferences 🍪	ID is mandatory input for the "first visit" use case so is considered always mandatory, for consistency. Data is written because it will be used for confirmation.	POST /v1/json/write	GET /v1/redirect/write
Get new ID	-	main ID	create a new ID and sign it. do not store a cookie. return ID	Cookie is not saved at this stage because we show the new value to the user before they validate it (and then it is saved, using the "Write data" endpoint ⬆️ ). Since there is no cookie to read or write, no redirect version is needed, it can be made in JS with our without 3PC	GET /v1/json/newId	Not available
Get identity	-	list of: public key + start and end dates if any	Get the operator's "key" to use it for verifying an ID signed by this operator	This is used by websites to get the operator identity to verify signatures of preferences and id. Also used by audits.	GET /v1/json/identity	Not available

ℹ️ See below for details and examples

Design

Data

Two types of data is manipulated by the operator API:

Identifiers (ID) are pseudonymous identifiers that are stored by Prebid SSO.
- In a near future, Prebid SSO will allow storing multiple IDs of different types, but there will always be at least one, which is the "primary id": the Prebid ID, generated by an operator.
- For the MVP, only one id exists, the Prebid (unlogged) ID

Example:

{
  "version": 1,
  "type": "prebid_id",
  "value": "7435313e-caee-4889-8ad7-0acd0114ae3c",
  "source": {
    "domain": "operator0.com",
    "timestamp": 1639643112,
    "signature": "12345_signature"
  }
}

Preferences are user-set preferences regarding online tracking that is captured by a CMP UI or a web site (such as a publisher).
- There can be multiple preferences objects, but for the MVP a single boolean will be stored.

Example:

{
  "version": 1,
  "data": {
    "opt_in": true
  },
  "source": {
    "domain": "cmpC.com",
    "timestamp": 1639643110,
    "signature": "preferences_signature_xyz12345"
  }
}

While the Prebid ID is really created (randomly generated) by an operator, we can say that the preferences data is "created" by a CMP or web site, based on user input.

Source (data signature)

For traceability, in particular in the context of an audit, we need to be able to verify that:

the "creator" of the data is indeed who it said it was
the data has not been modified since it was saved
the preferences are for a particular user and not another one

To achieve this, identifiers and preferences are always stored and transported along with their respective "source":

creator domain name
creation timestamp
signature

The signature is calculated as follow:

for each identifier, signature of (creator domain name, creation date, version and ID value) with the creator's private key (in this case it will be an operator)
for preferences, there is one source for all preferences: signature of (creator domain name, creation date, version and preferences value + Prebid ID value) with the creator's private key (in this case it will be a CMP or a website, the last to update preferences)
- because the Prebid ID is part of the signature, the preferences message cannot be used for another user

To verify that a signature is valid, anyone can:

read the "creator" domain name
access the corresponding "identity" endpoint to get the creator's key
use this key and the data to verify the signature with a standard algorithm

For more details and examples on signature, see DSP API design.

Message signature

All messages (requests or responses, except for /identity endpoint) are signed before to be sent.

The signature takes all "key" data (see below), concatenate it and signs it.

Note that the receiver of each message is not part of the message, while it is part of the signature.
Also, when preferences and ids are provided for write or returned for read, only the signature of this is data is considered for the whole message signature, not the data value itself. It means to fully verify the integrity of the received data, the receiver needs to do a verification in two steps:
- verify the message signature to consider its included signatures can be trusted
- verify each data source signature to consider its data has not been tempered.

Endpoint details

Here are some examples of the operator endpoints, assuming that query strings and payloads are not encrypted

GET /v1/json/read

Request

GET /v1/json/read?sender=advertiserA.com&timestamp=1639057962145&signature=message_signature_xyz1234

Signature

Signature of the concatenation of:

sender + '\u2063' +
receiver + '\u2063' +
timestamp

Response: known user

{
  "sender": "operatorO.com",
  "timestamp": 1639059692793,
  "signature": "message_signature_xyz1234",
  "body": {
    "preferences": {
      "version": 1,
      "data": {
        "opt_in": true
      },
      "source": {
        "domain": "cmpC.com",
        "timestamp": 1639643112,
        "signature": "preferences_signature_xyz12345"
      }
    },
    "identifiers": [
      {
        "version": 1,
        "type": "prebid_id",
        "value": "7435313e-caee-4889-8ad7-0acd0114ae3c",
        "source": {
          "domain": "operator0.com",
          "timestamp": 1639643110,
          "signature": "prebid_id_signature_xyz12345"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Signature

Signature of the concatenation of:

sender + '\u2063' +
receiver + '\u2063' +
preferences.source.signature + '\u2063' +
identifiers[0].source.signature + '\u2063' +
identifiers[1].source.signature + '\u2063' +
...
identifiers[n].source.signature + '\u2063' +
timestamp

Response: unknown user

{
  "sender": "operatorO.com",
  "timestamp": 1639059692793,
  "signature": "message_signature_xyz1234",
  "body": {
    "preferences": {},
    "identifiers": []
  }
}

Signature

Signature of the concatenation of:

sender + '\u2063' +
receiver + '\u2063' +
timestamp

GET /v1/json/readOrGetNewId

Request

GET /v1/json/readOrGetNewId?sender=publisherP.com&timestamp=1639057962145&signature=message_signature_xyz1234

Signature

Signature of the concatenation of:

sender + '\u2063' +
receiver + '\u2063' +
timestamp

Response

Note: list of identifiers cannot be empty.

{
  "sender": "operatorO.com",
  "timestamp": 1639059692793,
  "signature": "message_signature_xyz1234",
  "body": {
    "preferences": {},
    "identifiers": [
      {
        "version": 1,
        "type": "prebid_id",
        "value": "7435313e-caee-4889-8ad7-0acd0114ae3c",
        "source": {
          "domain": "operator0.com",
          "timestamp": 1639643110,
          "signature": "prebid_id_signature_xyz12345"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Signature

Signature of the concatenation of:

sender + '\u2063' +
receiver + '\u2063' +
preferences.source.signature + '\u2063' +
identifiers[0].source.signature + '\u2063' +
identifiers[1].source.signature + '\u2063' +
...
identifiers[n].source.signature + '\u2063' +
timestamp

POST /v1/json/write

Request

POST /v1/json/write

Request payload:

{
  "sender": "cmpC.com",
  "timestamp": 1639057962145,
  "signature": "message_signature_xyz1234",
  "body": {
    "preferences": {
      "version": 1,
      "data": {
        "opt_in": true
      },
      "source": {
        "domain": "cmpC.com",
        "timestamp": 1639643112,
        "signature": "preferences_signature_xyz12345"
      }
    },
    "identifiers": [
      {
        "version": 1,
        "type": "prebid_id",
        "value": "7435313e-caee-4889-8ad7-0acd0114ae3c",
        "source": {
          "domain": "operator0.com",
          "timestamp": 1639643110,
          "signature": "prebid_id_signature_xyz12345"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Signature

Signature of the concatenation of:

sender + '\u2063' +
receiver + '\u2063' +
preferences.source.signature + '\u2063' +
identifiers[0].source.signature + '\u2063' +
identifiers[1].source.signature + '\u2063' +
...
identifiers[n].source.signature + '\u2063' +
timestamp

Response

{
  "sender": "operatorO.com",
  "timestamp": 1639059692793,
  "signature": "message_signature_xyz1234",
  "body": {
    "preferences": {
      "version": 1,
      "data": {
        "opt_in": true
      },
      "source": {
        "domain": "cmpC.com",
        "timestamp": 1639643112,
        "signature": "preferences_signature_xyz12345"
      }
    },
    "identifiers": [
      {
        "version": 1,
        "type": "prebid_id",
        "value": "7435313e-caee-4889-8ad7-0acd0114ae3c",
        "source": {
          "domain": "operator0.com",
          "timestamp": 1639643110,
          "signature": "prebid_id_signature_xyz12345"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Signature

Signature of the concatenation of:

sender + '\u2063' +
receiver + '\u2063' +
preferences.source.signature + '\u2063' +
identifiers[0].source.signature + '\u2063' +
identifiers[1].source.signature + '\u2063' +
...
identifiers[n].source.signature + '\u2063' +
timestamp

GET /v1/json/newId

Request

GET /v1/json/newId?sender=cmpC.com&timestamp=1639057962145&signature=message_signature_xyz1234

Signature

Signature of the concatenation of:

sender + '\u2063' +
receiver + '\u2063' +
timestamp

Response

{
  "sender": "operatorO.com",
  "timestamp": 1639059692793,
  "signature": "message_signature_xyz1234",
  "body": {
    "version": 1,
    "type": "prebid_id",
    "value": "7435313e-caee-4889-8ad7-0acd0114ae3c",
    "source": {
      "domain": "operator0.com",
      "timestamp": 1639643112,
      "signature": "12345_signature"
    }
  }
}

GET /v1/redirect/read

Request

GET /v1/redirect/read?sender=advertiserA.com&timestamp=1639057962145&signature=message_signature_xyz1234&redirectUrl=https://advertiserA.com/pageA.html

Signature

Signature of the concatenation of:

sender + '\u2063' +
receiver + '\u2063' +
timestamp + '\u2063' +
redirectUrl

Response: known user

302 https://advertiserA.com/pageA.html?sender=operatorO.com&timestamp=1639059692793&signature=message_signature_xyz1234&body.preferences.version=1&body.preferences.data.opt_in=true&body.preferences.source.domain=cmpC.com&body.preferences.source.timestamp=1639643112&body.preferences.source.signature=preferences_signature_xyz12345&body.identifiers[0].version=1&body.identifiers[0].type=prebid_id&body.identifiers[0].value=7435313e-caee-4889-8ad7-0acd0114ae3c&body.identifiers[0].source.domain=operator0.com&body.identifiers[0].source.timestamp=1639643110&body.identifiers[0].source.signature=prebid_id_signature_xyz12345

...which corresponds to the following query string values:

sender=operatorO.com
timestamp=1639059692793
signature=message_signature_xyz1234
body.preferences.version=1
body.preferences.data.opt_in=true
body.preferences.source.domain=cmpC.com
body.preferences.source.timestamp=1639643112
body.preferences.source.signature=preferences_signature_xyz12345
body.identifiers[0].version=1
body.identifiers[0].type=prebid_id
body.identifiers[0].value=7435313e-caee-4889-8ad7-0acd0114ae3c
body.identifiers[0].source.domain=operator0.com
body.identifiers[0].source.timestamp=1639643110
body.identifiers[0].source.signature=prebid_id_signature_xyz12345

Signature

Signature of the concatenation of:

sender + '\u2063' +
receiver + '\u2063' +
preferences.source.signature + '\u2063' +
identifiers[0].source.signature + '\u2063' +
identifiers[1].source.signature + '\u2063' +
...
identifiers[n].source.signature + '\u2063' +
timestamp

Response: unknown user

302 https://advertiserA.com/pageA.html?sender=operatorO.com&timestamp=1639059692793&signature=message_signature_xyz1234

Signature

Signature of the concatenation of:

sender + '\u2063' +
receiver + '\u2063' +
timestamp

GET /v1/redirect/readOrGetNewId

Request

GET /v1/redirect/readOrGetNewId?sender=publisherP.com&timestamp=1639057962145&signature=message_signature_xyz1234&redirectUrl=https://publisherP.com/pageP.html

Signature

Signature of the concatenation of:

sender + '\u2063' +
receiver + '\u2063' +
timestamp + '\u2063' +
redirectUrl

Response

Note: list of identifiers cannot be empty.

302 https://publisherP.com/pageP.html?sender=operatorO.com&timestamp=1639059692793&signature=message_signature_xyz1234&body.identifiers[0].version=1&body.identifiers[0].type=prebid_id&body.identifiers[0].value=7435313e-caee-4889-8ad7-0acd0114ae3c&body.identifiers[0].source.domain=operator0.com&body.identifiers[0].source.timestamp=1639643110&body.identifiers[0].source.signature=prebid_id_signature_xyz12345

...which corresponds to the following query string values:

sender=operatorO.com
timestamp=1639059692793
signature=message_signature_xyz1234
body.identifiers[0].version=1
body.identifiers[0].type=prebid_id
body.identifiers[0].value=7435313e-caee-4889-8ad7-0acd0114ae3c
body.identifiers[0].source.domain=operator0.com
body.identifiers[0].source.timestamp=1639643110
body.identifiers[0].source.signature=prebid_id_signature_xyz12345

Signature

Signature of the concatenation of:

sender + '\u2063' +
receiver + '\u2063' +
preferences.source.signature + '\u2063' +
identifiers[0].source.signature + '\u2063' +
identifiers[1].source.signature + '\u2063' +
...
identifiers[n].source.signature + '\u2063' +
timestamp

GET /v1/redirect/write

Request

GET /v1/redirect/write?sender=cmpC.com&timestamp=1639057962145&signature=message_signature_xyz1234&body.preferences.version=1&body.preferences.data.opt_in=true&body.preferences.source.domain=cmpC.com&body.preferences.source.timestamp=1639643112&body.preferences.source.signature=preferences_signature_xyz12345&body.identifiers[0].version=1&body.identifiers[0].type=prebid_id&body.identifiers[0].value=7435313e-caee-4889-8ad7-0acd0114ae3c&body.identifiers[0].source.domain=operator0.com&body.identifiers[0].source.timestamp=1639643110&body.identifiers[0].source.signature=prebid_id_signature_xyz12345&redirectUrl=https://publisherP.com/pageP.html

...which corresponds to the following query string values:

sender=cmpC.com
timestamp=1639057962145
signature=message_signature_xyz1234
body.preferences.version=1
body.preferences.data.opt_in=true
body.preferences.source.domain=cmpC.com
body.preferences.source.timestamp=1639643112
body.preferences.source.signature=preferences_signature_xyz12345
body.identifiers[0].version=1
body.identifiers[0].type=prebid_id
body.identifiers[0].value=7435313e-caee-4889-8ad7-0acd0114ae3c
body.identifiers[0].source.domain=operator0.com
body.identifiers[0].source.timestamp=1639643110
body.identifiers[0].source.signature=prebid_id_signature_xyz12345
redirectUrl=https://publisherP.com/pageP.html

Signature

Signature of the concatenation of:

sender + '\u2063' +
receiver + '\u2063' +
preferences.source.signature + '\u2063' +
identifiers[0].source.signature + '\u2063' +
identifiers[1].source.signature + '\u2063' +
...
identifiers[n].source.signature + '\u2063' +
timestamp

Response

302 https://publisherP.com/pageP.html?sender=operatorO.com&timestamp=1639059692793&signature=message_signature_xyz1234&body.preferences.version=1&body.preferences.data.opt_in=true&body.preferences.source.domain=cmpC.com&body.preferences.source.timestamp=1639643112&body.preferences.source.signature=preferences_signature_xyz12345&body.identifiers[0].version=1&body.identifiers[0].type=prebid_id&body.identifiers[0].value=7435313e-caee-4889-8ad7-0acd0114ae3c&body.identifiers[0].source.domain=operator0.com&body.identifiers[0].source.timestamp=1639643110&body.identifiers[0].source.signature=prebid_id_signature_xyz12345

...which corresponds to the following query string values:

sender=operatorO.com
timestamp=1639059692793
signature=message_signature_xyz1234
body.preferences.version=1
body.preferences.data.opt_in=true
body.preferences.source.domain=cmpC.com
body.preferences.source.timestamp=1639643112
body.preferences.source.signature=preferences_signature_xyz12345
body.identifiers[0].version=1
body.identifiers[0].type=prebid_id
body.identifiers[0].value=7435313e-caee-4889-8ad7-0acd0114ae3c
body.identifiers[0].source.domain=operator0.com
body.identifiers[0].source.timestamp=1639643110
body.identifiers[0].source.signature=prebid_id_signature_xyz12345

Signature

Signature of the concatenation of:

sender + '\u2063' +
receiver + '\u2063' +
preferences.source.signature + '\u2063' +
identifiers[0].source.signature + '\u2063' +
identifiers[1].source.signature + '\u2063' +
...
identifiers[n].source.signature + '\u2063' +
timestamp

GET /v1/redirect/newId

Request

GET /v1/redirect/newId?sender=cmpC.com&timestamp=1639057962145&signature=message_signature_xyz1234&redirectUrl=https://publisherP.com/pageP.html

Signature

Signature of the concatenation of:

sender + '\u2063' +
receiver + '\u2063' +
timestamp + '\u2063' +
redirectUrl

Response

302 https://publisherP.com/pageP.html?sender=operatorO.com&timestamp=1639059692793&signature=message_signature_xyz1234&body.version=1&body.type=prebid_id&body.value=7435313e-caee-4889-8ad7-0acd0114ae3c&body.source.domain=operator0.com&body.source.timestamp=1639643112&body.source.signature=12345_signature

...which corresponds to the following query string values:

sender=operatorO.com
timestamp=1639059692793
signature=message_signature_xyz1234
body.version=1
body.type=prebid_id
body.value=7435313e-caee-4889-8ad7-0acd0114ae3c
body.source.domain=operator0.com
body.source.timestamp=1639643112
body.source.signature=12345_signature

GET /v1/identity

Request

GET /v1/identity

Response

{
  "name": "Operator O",
  "type": "vendor",
  "keys": [
    { 
      "key": "04f3b7ec9095779b119cc6d30a21a6a3920c5e710d13ea8438727b7fd5cca47d048f020539d24e74b049a418ac68c03ea75c66982eef7fdc60d8fb2c7707df3dcd",
      "start": 1639500000,
      "end": 1639510000
    },
    { 
      "key": "044782dd8b7a6b8affa0f6cd94ede3682e85307224064f39db20e8f49b5f415d83fef66f3818ee549b04e443efa63c2d7f1fe9a631dc05c9f51ad98139b202f9f3",
      "start": 1639510000,
      "end":  1639520000
    }
  ]
}

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Operator API

Endpoints

Design

Data

Source (data signature)

Message signature

Endpoint details

GET /v1/json/read

Request

Signature

Response: known user

Signature

Response: unknown user

Signature

GET /v1/json/readOrGetNewId

Request

Signature

Response

Signature

POST /v1/json/write

Request

Signature

Response

Signature

GET /v1/json/newId

Request

Signature

Response

GET /v1/redirect/read

Request

Signature

Response: known user

Signature

Response: unknown user

Signature

GET /v1/redirect/readOrGetNewId

Request

Signature

Response

Signature

GET /v1/redirect/write

Request

Signature

Response

Signature

GET /v1/redirect/newId

Request

Signature

Response

GET /v1/identity

Request

Response