Protected Audience API: Our new name for FLEDGE

FLEDGE API is now named Protected Audience API. More details and background below.

When we started working on new mechanisms for digital advertising, we gave one of the key APIs a name that reflected its stage of development: First “Locally-Executed Decision over Groups” Experiment, or FLEDGE for short.

At the time, the FLEDGE API was truly an experiment. Moving away from identifiers such as third-party cookies and cross-app identifiers meant experimenting with new ways to connect users and advertising in more private ways.

Today, with companies testing the technology and getting ready for the “General Availability” stage on the web, FLEDGE has moved beyond being an initial experiment. This API needs a name that makes it clear that this project is designed to improve user privacy, while offering ad relevance and better protecting advertiser and publisher audience data. We decided to give it the name of Protected Audience API.

As we update resources and documentation to reflect the new name, we hope you will help with this transition by using the new name in your public materials and conversations. If you’re a developer or work on the implementation of Privacy Sandbox APIs, you may continue to see the name “FLEDGE” in code. To minimize disruption, we do not have plans to change underlying APIs or commands.