Aiming
You can use aiming to preview a banner added to Adfox on the site regardless of any set limits or targeting. This feature comes in handy when you need to:
- Test banner placements on a site, mobile app, or a Smart TV.
- Take screenshots of creatives.
- Debug the banner code, SDK integration, or video player.
- Check the campaign behavior from the user's perspective.
You can aim at:
- Flights within a supercampaign.
- Banners.
- Ad campaigns (on the OLD tab).
Aiming methods
Select a method based on where you want to test the banner.
|
Aiming method |
Where it works |
Use cases |
|
Browsers |
Desktop browsers with cookies enabled |
Quickly testing the banner on a site in your current browser |
|
URL parameters |
Any browser, including Safari, as well as S2S integrations |
Cookies are unavailable or blocked, or you need to share the link with your team |
|
On devices |
Mobile apps (in-app banners), Smart TVs, CTVs |
Testing the banner in a mobile app or on a TV |
In-browser aiming
In-browser aiming sets cookies. Adfox uses these cookies to identify your browser and deliver the aimed object to you.
Here's how it works:
- Select Aiming in browser on the object's page or from the campaign list. This sets an aiming cookie in your current browser.
- Go to the site where the banner is placed. The aimed object will show up there for 30 minutes. Alternatively, copy the aiming link and share it with your team so they can preview the banner in their browsers.
You can generate a link anytime over a 24-hour period, with no limit on the number of ad requests. Once generated, the aiming link is active for 30 minutes.
Warning
Cookie-based aiming won't work in browsers that block cookies (like Safari or privacy-focused browsers). In these cases, use aiming via URL parameters.
Aiming via URL parameters
Aiming via URL parameters doesn't require cookies because the parameters are added right to the page address. This method is perfect for browsers that block cookies (like Safari or privacy-focused browsers) and for S2S integrations.
Here's how it works:
-
Select Aiming via URL parameters on the object's page or from the campaign list.
-
In the window that opens, enter the URL of the page where the banner is placed. A preview link with aiming parameters will appear below, for example:
https://example.com?adf_aimed_campaign_id=12345&adf_aimed_banner_id=67890. -
Copy the link and open it in the browser you're using for testing, or share it with your team. You can also click Follow the link to open the page with the aimed object right away.
Tip
If you already know the page URL, you can manually add the parameters
?adf_aimed_campaign_id=XXX&adf_aimed_banner_id=YYYto the address.
On-device aiming
On-device aiming uses a device ID so you can test banners in mobile apps or on Smart TVs where browsers and cookies aren't an option.
Alert
For aiming to work, your app or the SDK needs to pass the device ID in the ad request to Adfox using the correct GET parameter. For example, if you set up aiming using GAID, the request must include the parameter &google_aid=38400000-8cf0-11bd-b23e-10b96e40000d.
If this parameter is missing or doesn't match your settings in the interface, aiming won't work. Check with your app developer to see exactly which ID is being passed in the request, and use the same type when setting up your aiming.
Supported ID types
|
Platform |
ID |
Engine parameter |
Format |
|
iOS (iPhone, iPad) |
IDFA |
|
A 32-character hex string (uppercase or lowercase), with or without hyphens. For example
|
|
iOS (iPhone, iPad) |
IDFV |
|
A 32-character hex string (uppercase or lowercase), with or without hyphens. For example
|
|
Android (including Android TVs) |
GAID |
|
A 32-character hex string (uppercase or lowercase), with or without hyphens. For example
|
|
Android (including Android TVs) |
App Set ID |
|
A 32-character UUID v4 hex string (lowercase), with or without hyphens. For example
|
|
Android without Google Play (Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo) |
OAID |
|
A 32-character hex string (uppercase or lowercase), with or without hyphens. For example
|
|
Huawei without Google Play |
Huawei OAID |
|
A 32-character hex string (uppercase or lowercase), with or without hyphens. For example
|
|
LG Smart TV (webOS) |
LGUDID |
|
A 32-character UUID v4 hex string (lowercase), with or without hyphens. For example
|
|
Samsung Smart TV |
DUID |
|
A 32-character UUID v4 hex string (lowercase), with or without hyphens. For example
|
|
Samsung Smart TV |
TIFA |
|
A 32-character UUID v4 hex string (lowercase), with or without hyphens. For example
|
|
Samsung Smart TV |
Tizen UUID |
|
28 characters (lowercase and uppercase), including For example
|
|
Samsung Smart TV |
Extended DUID |
|
A 32-character UUID v4 hex string (lowercase), with or without hyphens. For example
|
|
Any platform |
Universal UUID |
|
A 32-character hex string (uppercase or lowercase), with or without hyphens. For example
|
|
Any platform |
Device ID |
|
A 32-character hex string (uppercase or lowercase), with or without hyphens. For example
20 or 24 characters (uppercase or lowercase). For example
|
How to set up aiming by device ID
-
Select Aiming by Device on the object's page or from the campaign list.
-
In the window that opens, enter the device ID or pick one from your saved IDs.
Adfox stores your last 10 device IDs, so next time you can just select your device from the list without typing the ID again. If you've already used a device ID for aiming, you'll see an Aimed label next to it.
-
Click Save.
-
Open the app or play some content on your Smart TV, and the aimed banner will appear on the device right away.
Where to find the device ID on your device
You can't look up the IDFA directly in the settings on Apple devices. Here's how to find it:
-
Install a free app from the App Store — for example, My Device ID by AppsFlyer or FindMyIDFA.
-
Open the app, and your IDFA will show up on the screen. Copy the ID and paste it into the device ID field in Adfox.
Make sure that tracking is enabled on your device: Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking → Allow Apps to Request to Track.
If a user hasn't granted ATT (App Tracking Transparency) permission and the IDFA is unavailable, use the IDFV (Identifier for Vendor) instead. This is an ID that iOS assigns to a group of apps from the same developer on a device. Unlike the IDFA, it doesn't require user permission and remains available as long as at least one of the developer's apps is installed on the device.
Device settings don't show the IDFV, so you can't look it up
manually like the IDFA. You can only access it programmatically through the
property UIDevice.current.identifierForVendor in the iOS SDK.
To get an IDFV:
-
Check with the app developer: they can call the IDFV retrieval API and give you the ID.
-
Copy the ID and paste it into the device ID field in Adfox. The IDFV is passed as a 36-character string.
Warning
The IDFV resets if the user deletes all of that vendor's apps from their device. When the user reinstalls any app, they'll get a new IDFV.
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Open Settings on your device.
-
Go to the advertising ID section. The exact path depends on your Android version and device manufacturer:
- Android 14 and above (Pixel and others): Settings → All services → Privacy & security → Ads.
- Android 12 and 13: Settings → Privacy → Ads.
- Android 11 and below (or Xiaomi and some other UIs): Settings → Google → Ads.
- Samsung (One UI): Settings → Security and privacy → More privacy settings → Ads.
-
Your advertising ID (GAID) will show up on the screen. Copy the ID and paste it into the device ID field in Adfox.
Tip
If you can't find the section, just type “ads” or “advertising” into the search bar in your device settings.
Warning
Starting with Android 12, users can delete their advertising ID instead of simply resetting it. If the GAID is deleted, apps will receive a string of zeros: 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000. If this happens, use the App Set ID instead.
Unlike mobile devices, the advertising ID on Android TV devices (TVs and streaming boxes) is located in a different place:
-
Go to the Android TV home screen.
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Select the Settings icon at the top of the screen.
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Select Device → Preferences → About.
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Choose Legal information → Ads.
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Your advertising ID will show up at the bottom of the screen, right next to the text “This device ID”.
-
Copy the ID and paste it into the device ID field in Adfox.
Tip
On some devices, the exact path might vary depending on the manufacturer and OS version. If you can't find the section, try looking for the ID under Settings → About → Legal information → Ads.
Warning
You can also reset or delete the ID right from this section. Once you delete the ID, the device won't be assigned a new one. Instead, apps will just receive a string of zeros.
Use the App Set ID if you need to test the banner inside an app where the user has opted out of personalized ads and reset or disabled their GAID. The App Set ID is a unique identifier that Google Play Services assigns to a group of apps from the same developer on a device.
The App Set ID doesn't appear in the device settings, so you can't look it up
manually like the GAID or IDFA. You can only access it programmatically
through App Set ID API (com.google.android.gms.appset).
To get the App Set ID:
-
Check with your app developer: they can retrieve the ID by calling
AppSetIdClient.getAppSetIdInfo(). -
Copy the value and paste it into the device ID field in Adfox.
Warning
The App Set ID is shared by all apps from the same developer on a device. If you're testing aiming in someone else's app, its App Set ID will be different from your test ID.
The OAID (Open Advertising ID) is an advertising identifier for Android devices that don't have Google Play Services. It's used on Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, Realme, Meizu, and others. The OAID standard was developed by the MSA (Mobile Security Alliance).
Warning
On devices with Google Play (even those from Chinese vendors), GAID still takes priority. Only use OAID if GAID is unavailable.
The OAID doesn't show up in standard Android settings. On some devices, you can look it up like this:
Settings → Privacy → System services → OAID advertising.
Settings → More settings → Privacy → Ads.
Check with your app developer, or just type “ads” or “OAID” into the search bar in your device settings.
Tip
If you can't find the section, just type “ads” or “OAID” into the search bar in your device settings. If the OAID doesn't show up in the settings, you can retrieve it programmatically via the MSA OAID SDK — check with your app developer.
The Huawei OAID is the advertising identifier for Huawei devices running on HMS Core (Huawei Mobile Services) without Google Play. These devices have been on the market since 2019: Mate 30, P40, Mate 40, Nova 8, and newer models.
Tip
Huawei devices with Google Play support GAID as well. Which ID to use depends on the SDK your app was built with.
To look up the Huawei OAID on the device:
-
Open Settings.
-
Go to Privacy → Ads. The exact path may vary depending on your EMUI or HarmonyOS version.
-
The advertising ID will show up on the screen. Copy the ID and paste it into the device ID field in Adfox.
If the ID doesn't appear in the settings — for example, on older models with Google Play — you need to retrieve it programmatically via the HMS Core Identifier Service (check with your app developer).
Warning
When you reset the advertising ID in the settings, the Huawei OAID value changes, so you'll need to fetch the new ID after the reset.
You can look it up via the TV's menu (DUID):
-
Press Menu on the remote control.
-
Go to Support → Contact Samsung or Settings → Support → About This TV.
-
The device ID (DUID) will show up on the screen. Copy the ID and paste it into the device ID field in Adfox.
You can access the advertising ID (TIFA) programmatically using the Samsung AdInfo API. If your app uses the Samsung Ads SDK, the TIFA is passed automatically.
In addition to DUID and TIFA, Samsung Smart TVs also support the Tizen UUID. This is a unique identifier that Tizen generates individually for each app on the device (a per-app UUID). Go with the Tizen UUID if your app doesn't support TIFA, or if the user resets their TIFA and you need a stable ID for testing.
The Tizen UUID doesn't show up in the TV's menu, so you can't look it up manually. You'll need to access it programmatically using the Tizen Device API (tizen.systeminfo.getCapability("http://tizen.org/system/tizenid")) or through GetUuid() in the Tizen TV API.
To get the Tizen UUID:
-
Check with your app developer: they can call the UUID retrieval API and give you the ID.
-
Copy the ID and paste it into the device ID field in Adfox.
Warning
Each app has a unique Tizen UUID on the same TV. This means an ID obtained from a test app won't work for testing banners in a different app.
LG Smart TVs run on the webOS platform. These devices are identified using the LGUDID (LG Unique Device ID). It's a unique ID you can fetch programmatically using the webOS Device Unique ID API. To fetch the ID, the app sends a request: luna://com.webos.service.sm → deviceid/getIDs → idType: ['LGUDID']. This returns a standard UUID-formatted string: 095f142a-xxxx-ac5d-xxxx-92c8be18xxxx.
If you're integrating the LG SDK, ask your app developer to give you the LGUDID from the test TV.
Warning
IDs found under “TV information” (such as ESN, Widevine, or VSN) are not the LGUDID. You can't use them for aiming in Adfox.
Aiming features
Enable aiming
- You can't aim at multiple campaigns or banners from different ad campaigns. The last object aiming is valid.
- You can aim at objects with the active status, including objects with a start date in the future and with any set of targetings and limits at any level.
- The necessary object is shown only with its ad codes. If your code can return multiple banners from the campaign you're aiming at, the banners are displayed at random.
Statistics
Statistics (ad responses, impressions, clicks, events) for the aimed object aren't included in reports.
Finish aiming
- You can't disable aiming forcibly: the aiming time must expire.
- After the end of the aiming time for the user that's aiming at the object, running continues as usual: targeting and restrictions apply, and statistics continue to be calculated.
Note
For all other users (not aiming at the object) banner running continues as usual.