Identity and Identifier Terms and Concepts
See the sections below for information on the identity and identifier terms and concepts used at LiveRamp.
Note
For EU and UK customers, "personally-identifiable information" (or PII) is called “directly identifiable personal data”.
An identifier is data used to identify something, such as a person, mobile device, computer browser, or household.
LiveRamp uses identifiers (such as name and postal address, email address, RampIDs, cookie IDs, or mobile device IDs) to match your records to other identifiers in our Identity Graph.
Some identifiers (such as client customer IDs) can also be used as an audience key in your files, which allows us to consolidate duplicate rows throughout a particular audience.
The two main categories of identifiers are:
Known identifiers (identifiers which have been derived from, and/or can be associated with, PII). Identifiers in this category include name and postal address, email address, phone number, client customer IDs, and (in some cases) custom IDs - see "Known Identifiers" for more information.
Pseudonymous identifiers (identifiers that can't be directly tied back to an individual on their own, such as known identifiers that have been pseudonymized and device identifiers). Identifiers in this category include cookie IDs, mobile device IDs, and (in some cases) custom IDs - see "Pseudonymous Identifiers" for more information.
Identifier data are data LiveRamp uses to match your records to other identifiers in our Identity Graph. Identifier data includes such touchpoints as name and postal address, email address, cookie IDs, and mobile device IDs.
Identifier data also includes identifiers (such as client customer IDs) that are used as an audience key and allow us to consolidate duplicate rows in your file and throughout a particular audience.
Caution
Stay consistent! Files for ingestion in the same LiveRamp audience should always have the same set of identifier fields, and the field names (headers in a column-based file and keys in a key-value file) and audience key should be consistent from file to file.
There are two categories of identifier data that can be included:
Known identifiers (sometimes referred to as "offline identifiers") are identifiers that have been derived from, and/or can be associated with, PII. See "Known Identifiers" for more information.
Pseudonymous identifiers (sometimes referred to as "online identifiers") include device identifiers, and known identifiers that have been pseudonymized, that can't be directly tied back to an individual. See "Pseudonymous Identifiers" for more information.
Warning
Do not combine known identifiers and pseudonymous identifiers in a single file.
See "Formatting Identifiers" for more information on formatting known and pseudonymous identifiers.
Known identifiers include PII identifiers and other identifiers which have been derived from, and/or can be associated with, PII and have not been pseudonymized yet.
Note
For EU and UK customers, "personally-identifiable information" (or PII) is called “directly identifiable personal data”.
In addition to PII-based identifiers (such as name and postal address or email address), known identifiers also include AbiliTec IDs, client customer IDs, and (in some cases) custom IDs and IP addresses.
Note
Known identifiers and PII identifiers are sometimes referred to as "offline identifiers."
Note
Known identifiers are in contrast with pseudonymous identifiers, which can't be directly tied back to an individual.
These identifiers include:
Name and postal addresses (name and postal, or "NAP"). See "Formatting Name and Postal Addresses" for more information.
Note
When using name and postal as an identifier, all required name and postal elements must be included in each record: first name, last name, street address, city, state, and ZIP.
Email addresses: These can be plaintext or hashed, with SHA-256, MD5, and SHA-1 hashes accepted. See "Formatting Email Addresses" for more information.
Phone numbers: These can be plaintext or hashed, with SHA-1 hashes accepted. See "Formatting Phone Numbers" for more information. Phone numbers can be used to match with or without any additional PII, and can be used to match in conjunction with first and last name (similarly to NAP) for greater accuracy. Note: EU data files cannot contain hashed phone numbers.
Client Customer IDs: Your internal customer ID. Note: These identifiers function as an audience key, and allow us to de-duplicate rows in the uploaded file, in case a file has multiple rows related to the same person. If you cannot provide a client customer ID, we will use NAP or email addresses as the audience key to deduplicate records.
AbiliTec IDs: The type of identifier tied to a record in our AbiliTec offline identity graph
Pseudonymous identifiers are identifiers, such as known identifiers that have been pseudonymized or device identifiers (such as a mobile device ID or cookie ID), that can't be directly tied back to an individual.
In addition to device-based identifiers, pseudonymous identifiers include RampIDs and (in some cases) custom IDs.
Note
Pseudonymous identifiers and device-based identifiers are sometimes referred to as "online identifiers."
Note
Pseudonymous identifiers are in contrast with known identifiers, which have been derived from, and/or can be associated with, PII (and are therefore considered PII).
These identifiers can include:
Cookies: Data that is set by a website when a particular user’s browser visits that site. See "Formatting Cookies" for more information.
Custom IDs (CIDs): Identifiers that are assigned to users by a specific platform, such as Google or Facebook. See "Formatting Custom IDs" for more information.
Note
If a custom ID is tied to PII, it is considered "known" and not "pseudonymous."
Mobile device IDs: Identifiers that identify a particular mobile device, such as Identifier for Advertisers (IDFAs) for iOS (Apple) devices and Android Advertising IDs (AAIDs) for Android devices. These can be plaintext or hashed, with SHA-1 hashes accepted. See "Formatting Mobile Device IDs" for more information.
Note
Web browsing (cookie) data from mobile devices is considered web data and is not included in the mobile category.
RampIDs: LiveRamp’s identifier that is tied to devices in the LiveRamp Identity Graph. See "Formatting RampIDs" for more information.
Caution
We have a 90-day retention window for cookie IDs and a 2-year retention window for mobile device IDs.
Note
Generally speaking, LiveRamp can accept cookies and custom IDs as input from any platform to which it can distribute data (some exceptions do exist; contact your LiveRamp representative with specific questions).
A category of identifiers where the identifiers consist of PII (personally identifiable information).
Note
For EU and UK customers, "personally-identifiable information" (or PII) is called “directly identifiable personal data”.
PII identifiers are a subset of the category of known identifiers, which are identifiers that have been derived from, and/or can be associated with, PII (and are therefore considered PII) and have not been pseudonymized yet. See "Known Identifiers" for more information.
Note
PII identifiers are sometimes also referred to as "offline identifiers."
A category of identifiers where the identifiers are based on digital devices (for example, cookie IDs or mobile device IDs).
Device identifiers are a subset of the category of pseudonymous identifiers, which are any identifiers that can't be directly tied back to an individual. See "Pseudonymous Identifiers" for more information.
Note
Device identifiers are sometimes also referred to as "online identifiers."
In the context of LiveRamp, a maintained identifier (such as a maintained RampID or a maintained AbiliTec ID) represents a person that LiveRamp can fully recognize.
A maintained identifier is the identifier associated with a given record when there is a maintained record in the AbiliTec Identity Graph (our PII-based offline identity graph) for the input data provided.
Multiple online devices can usually be matched to a maintained RampID, enabling cross-device use cases.
In some cases, there might be more than one maintained identifier for a given record. This situation sometimes arises when a particular PII touchpoint is present in more than one maintained record in the Identity Graph.
Note
What if there isn't a maintained record for the input data? If there is no maintained record in the AbiliTec Identity Graph, LiveRamp generates a derived identifier for each PII touchpoint, such as a derived AbiliTec ID or RampID.
As new information is added to the AbiliTec Identity Graph over time, a maintained identifier might change to reflect that new information.
Tip
How should updates be handled? LiveRamp does not provide mappings of old RampIDs to new RampIDs, or provide notice that a transition has occurred. This can be handled by simply overwriting the RampID you have in your system tied to a given device/user with the new RampID while maintaining data you had previously associated to that device/user.
In the LiveRamp context, a derived identifier is associated with known PII (such as an email address or phone number) when there is no maintained record in the AbiliTec Identity Graph (our PII-based offline identity graph) for the provided input data. Derived identifiers include derived RampIDs and derived AbiliTec IDs.
If there is a maintained record in the AbiliTec Identity Graph, LiveRamp will associate a maintained identifier, such as a maintained AbiliTec ID or a maintained RampID, with that record.
Multiple online devices can usually be matched to a derived RampID, enabling cross-device use cases.
As PII is added to the AbiliTec Identity Graph, a derived identifier might be converted to a maintained identifier once we can confidently resolve those PII touchpoints to an individual.
Tip
How should updates be handled? LiveRamp does not provide mappings of old derived RampIDs to new maintained RampIDs, or provide notice that a transition has occurred. This can be handled by simply overwriting the RampID you have in your system tied to a given device or PII with the new RampID while maintaining data you had previously associated to that device or PII.
In the context of LiveRamp, a placeholder cookie RampID or placeholder mobile RampID is the identifier provided for a cookie or mobile device ID which LiveRamp has not identified. Providing a placeholder identifier ensures that every device ID has a corresponding RampID, and allows LiveRamp to update to a maintained RampID if the device ID is identified in the future.
PII : Personally identifiable information, including name and postal, email, phone, and hashed email.
Note
For EU and UK customers, this type of identifier data is called “directly identifiable personal data”.
Example: name@gmail.com
RampID: LiveRamp’s universal, encrypted identifiers that LiveRamp customers and partners receive.
Example: XY1000r99GR8_vGdKIEZt98TLMY6RKCI3kYrEdaM3SF0twCqN
Cookie: A partner cookie in sync with LiveRamp.
Example: 134c3ef6-19af-469f-940f-46f948491f8e Note: Partner cookie IDs can be in many different formats.
IDFA or AAID: Pseudonymous mobile device identifiers; Apple's ID for Advertising (IDFA) for iOS devices and Google's Android Advertiser ID (AAID) for Android devices.
Example: 6219dbf3d457cf1419bd855e21ea247ac4b08949 Note: IDFAs and AAIDs are frequently SHA-1 hashed.
Custom ID: An account-based user ID understood by LiveRamp.
Example: 535c3ef6-19af-469f-940f-46f948491f8e Note: Partner custom IDs can be in many different formats.
In the context of identifiers, a RampID is LiveRamp's universal identifier that is tied to devices in the LiveRamp Identity Graph. It is a pseudonymized version of an AbiliTec ID, which is based on PII.
Note
A RampID is considered an pseudonymous identifier.
RampID Types
There are several types of RampIDs:
An Individual RampID represents an individual. It is a pseudonymized version of an AbiliTec Person ID which is based on PII. The length of these RampIDs, and the characters they start with, depends on whether they are maintained or derived versions (see below).
A Household RampID represents adults living together at the same location who exhibit a persistent relationship. It is a pseudonymized version of an AbiliTec Household ID which is based on PII. These RampIDs are 49 characters long and start with "hY".
A Placeholder Cookie RampID is an identifier provided for a cookie ID that LiveRamp has not yet identified. These RampIDs are 49 characters long and start with "Xc".
A Placeholder Mobile RampID is an identifier provided for a mobile device ID which LiveRamp has not yet identified. These RampIDs are 49 characters long and start with "Xm".
RampID Versions
Individual RampIDs come in maintained versions and derived versions, depending on whether there is a maintained record in the AbiliTec Identity Graph for the input data provided:
A maintained RampID represents a person that LiveRamp can fully recognize. Maintained RampIDs are 49 characters long and start with "XY." For example, "XY1005wXyWPB1SgpMUKIpzA0I3UaLEz-2lg0wFAr1PWK7FMhs."
A derived RampID is generated from the input PII provided when there is no maintained record for the input data. Derived RampIDs are 70 characters long, and start with "Xi." For example, "Xi1005p_iYcKP7ZlvFwwK9EwR8GKl_VJqIWUhEaAFmHLAjNOQ9b6OQzSkA43XiVFcTYQ9X."
Unique identifiers given to mobile devices. Types of mobile device IDs include:
Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) for Apple/iOS devices
Android Advertising ID (AAID) for Android devices
This category of IDs is sometimes referred to as Mobile User IDs (MUIDs) or Mobile Advertising IDs (MAIDs).
Identifiers that are assigned to users by a specific platform, such as Google or Facebook.
LiveRamp often uses these types of identifiers as a cross-reference between a LiveRamp partner's ID and LiveRamp's IDs.
When a CID is tied to PII in a file, it is considered a known identifier. When it is tied to a RampID or another pseudonymous identifier, it is considered an pseudonymous identifier.
An AbiliTec ID is considered a "known identifier" that is tied to a record in our AbiliTec offline identity graph. AbiliTec IDs are generated and encoded for specific AbiliTec clients.
There are three main types of AbiliTec IDs:
AbiliTec Person IDs: Represent an individual, based on PII
AbiliTec Household IDs: Represent adults living together at the same location with a persistent relationship based on PII
AbiliTec Address IDs: Represent a site or physical location
If there is a maintained record in the AbiliTec Identity Graph for the input data provided, a maintained AbiliTec ID is returned.
If there is no maintained record in the AbiliTec Identity Graph for the input data provided, a derived AbiliTec ID is generated and returned (depending on which endpoint is used for the API call).
Using AbiliTec IDs
AbiliTec IDs can be used in a client's environment for deduplication, person and household formation and validation, and data unification of identity fragments for known data sets.
Accessing AbiliTec IDs
The best way to access AbiliTec IDs from LiveRamp today is by using the AbiliTec API, which is a real-time, transactional API for resolving customer data (PII) to AbiliTec IDs. See our AbiliTec API help content and API reference and contact your LiveRamp representative to get started.