Yahoo Acquires Anti-Ad Blocker Startup ClarityRay

Yahoo has acquired Tel Aviv-based ad software startup ClarityRay. The two-year-old company is ostensibly focused on ad fraud detection and security, however it is best known for its solution that allows publishers to get around ad-blocker browser extensions.

Little is known about the company’s ad security efforts alluded to in the acquisition announcements. As of August 6, ad-blocking protection was still the solution promoted on ClarityRay’s website.

ClarityRay issued a statement on its website:

Our vision has always been making the eco-system safe, compliant and sustainable for consumers, publishers and advertisers. We helped the online advertising industry take a big step towards that direction by identifying, measuring, and solving many of its unseen hurdles inhibiting that. We brought traffic clarity to an amazing roster of clients, with our findings becoming an industry standard.

The company updated its terms and conditions and privacy policy on August 13 to reflect that the service would be governed under Yahoo’s privacy policy as of September 12, 2014.

A Yahoo spokesperson issued the following statement to TechCrunch:

We’ve been working on building up security capabilities and making Yahoo a safer place for users and partners. Advertising is an essential part of our business here at Yahoo, and we’re committed to getting it right. ClarityRay is a company with deep expertise in ad-malware detection and prevention. The bottom line for Yahoo is that search is going to get better and safer for users, and advertising will become more reliable and profitable for partners.

Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The Forward estimates Yahoo acquired the small firm for $15 to 25 million.