Proposal: ID Import Library to emit a new event with hash

[pycnvr]

Type of issue

Feature Request

Description

Currently the ID Import Library sends a post request with the email hash to endpoints. This works well for existing IDs. It would be useful if the hash can be made available to the user id submodules, too, so authentication based IDs can incorporate this value at ID retrieval.

Events seem to be the easiest vehicle but it's just one of the possibilities.

Steps to reproduce

• User id submodule registers interest in the new event during startup.
• When ID Import Library detects an email, it fires the new event.
• If the user id submodule's callback is invoked before the event, it can choose to wait for the event.
• If the user id submodule's callback hasn't been invoked yet, it can cache the hash and wait for the callback.

Other information

https://docs.prebid.org/dev-docs/modules/idLibrary.html

[jdwieland8282]

This is an interesting proposal @pycnvr , when we conceived of the ID Import Library some found it more palatable to not allow the hashed email to be passed into the bidstream, and the best way to ensure that wouldn't happen is to not expose it to the user id modules. If there is a way to ensure that the hash is not ever passed into the eids array this could work. I suggest we add this issue to the Identity PMC's agenda here the next meeting is 9/1 which I won't be able to attend. I'd like to be there if you don't mind waiting until 9/15 ?

[patmmccann]

Prebid is software for publishers; I don't think it is appropriate for the Id committee to be suppressing contributions because they don't find them palatable, despite the suppressed behavior helping publisher monetization and being widely accepted in some geographies. Publishers can and will find another way to do this if they desire. It is more appropriate for the Id committee to insist this behavior is off by default and requires active publisher configuration. The proposed publink and existing publisher provided id submodules already allow for this exact outcome, of hashed emails in the eids object.

The id import library's result being exposed to the Verizon, the publink, the Id5, etc submodules seems critical to its own success. We have written somewhat duplicative functionality to the id import library ourselves and then we pass the hashes to the id partners. It doesn't make sense to me to suppress similar functionality from getting committed to the project. I think Paul's suggestion would go a long way to make sure everything works nicely together and publishers don't need to develop such infrastructure.

As several publishers already have their own email capture infrastructure; I think this hook or event would be really nice if a publisher could use it without installing the id import module and both tell id submodules to expect it. This would very likely simplify what we've developed in a nice way. It might also solve issues highlighted on this thread https://github.com/prebid/Prebid.js/issues/6783

[jdwieland8282]

@patmmccann no one is suggesting the id pmc would suppress contributions from the pub community! When we magnate built the id lib we weren’t asked to enable hashed emails in the bid stream so we didn’t build that. If pubs what to do that I agree with you they should be able to, I’m simply suggesting the identity pmc discuss it.

[patmmccann]

Awesome ty;

re: "If there is a way to ensure that the hash is not ever passed into the eids array this could work. "

I think this can work even if there isn't such a way. This event would then become extremely useful to the large number of pubs who don't use the id import library but have their own analogue of it that could also fire this event.

[pycnvr]

Glad to see interests in this proposal!

@jdwieland8282 9/15 sounds good. I wonder if making the hash available strictly for the id modules might help, but @patmmccann suggestion of having publishers firing events is pretty useful, too.

[bretg]

Can someone please define the event and provide a description of what triggers the event? Trying to make this ready for development.

[pycnvr]

To get the discussion started, how about something like this?

Event Name: HID_FOUND When: Fires around step 5 in https://docs.prebid.org/dev-docs/modules/idLibrary.html. Alternatively can be fired externally. Callback Argument: {hid: 'hash_value'} or a list {hid: ['hash_value_1', 'hash_value_2']}

[jdwieland8282]

Hey @pycnvr what i've uncovered over the past few months is that publishers rarely run pb.js on their email capture pages because of this the id import lib rarely uncovers an email. I think this module should be a candidate for removal in 7.0. Do you have any examples of pubs with email capture on the same page as prebid.js?

[pycnvr]

Hi @jdwieland8282, good question. We did not find any examples, either.

[bretg]

Last call for community input. The resolution here is that the ID import library module will be removed in 7.0. If anyone is using this library, please let us know.

[patmmccann]

@jdwieland8282 can we have a final call on if id import will make it into 7 or not #7796

[patmmccann]

Closing as irrelevant given underlying module deprecation

[patmmccann]

re-opened due to the module continuing to live