Author: Tyler Zey
Many DSPs and ad platforms (e.g., Podscribe, Tatari, StackAdapt) match user events based on IP. When a visitor uses IPv6, but the DSP only recognizes IPv4, attribution can fail—even though the event hit. By opting into IPv4-only, you maintain event volume while improving coverage in platforms still optimized for IPv4.
What's the difference between IPv4 and IPv6?
IPv4 and IPv6 are both internet protocols—ways devices get identified online. IPv4 addresses are short and familiar: four groups of numbers separated by dots (e.g., 24.208.93.217). IPv6 addresses are longer and use hexadecimal characters, like 2001:4860:7:f0e::c7. IPv6 was introduced because we were running out of IPv4 addresses, but not every system has fully caught up.
Most devices today support both types. But not all advertising platforms handle IPv6 well when it comes to matching user data. This mismatch is why forcing IPv4 can help.
Why this matters
When site visitors alternate between IPv4 and IPv6, ad platforms often fail to connect the sessions. This mismatch can cause missed conversions—meaning your campaigns may be performing better than they appear.
Platforms like Podscribe and Tatari rely heavily on consistent IP data for household-level and cross-device attribution. If one visit shows up as IPv6 and the next as IPv4, they may not recognize it's the same person. That hurts the quality of their reporting—and your ability to optimize.
What the research says
Studies and sources have shown that:
Matching mismatch: If SSPs send IPv4 while DSPs track IPv6, the IDs never align. This is a known issue in multi-protocol environments. (AdTech Explained)
Attribution loss: Podscribe has reported up to 50% of its podcast ad data potentially lost when IPv6 traffic is involved. (Sounds Profitable)
IPv6 performance lag: Despite long-term benefits, IPv6 still underperforms IPv4 in some aspects like latency and throughput. (MDPI Journal)
CTV perspective: Streaming and connected TV platforms acknowledge IPv6’s stability but highlight that it's only beneficial once DSPs fully support it.
While IPv6 adoption will continue to grow, current DSPs and ad tech infrastructure often work better with consistent, clean IPv4 inputs.
How to make it work
If you're enabling IPv4-only collection, you should also use a custom domain that only resolves to an IPv4 address. This ensures all requests from your site to the analytics script use IPv4, regardless of the visitor's network setup.
We explain how to set this up step-by-step in our docs:
Real impact for DSPs
By making this small change, you're helping DSPs like Podscribe and Tatari do their jobs better:
Podscribe maps podcast listeners back to households using IP. More IPv4 data = more reliable matches.
Tatari attributes views and conversions for streaming TV and digital ads. IPv4 traffic makes it easier to connect exposure to action.
StackAdapt runs programmatic campaigns that depend on precise IP-based targeting and attribution. More IPv4 signals reduce mismatch rates.
Try it and see
We expect customers who opt in won’t see fewer events—but they may see more conversions reported by their DSPs. The tradeoff is minimal: a small number of IPv6-only users might not be able to send events—but this is rare. That's because the data is easier for those platforms to use.
Enable IPv4-only, set up your IPv4 custom domain, and watch your dashboards. Let us know what you see—we’re happy to help dig into the results.
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