Applications
Programmatic gets a new container lease on life with IAB’s tech reboot
MUMBAI: The pipes of programmatic plumbing are finally getting an upgrade and it’s all going into the container. In a bid to declutter the tangled maze of today’s digital ad infrastructure, the IAB Tech Lab has launched its Containerization Project, aiming to give the ad tech industry a fresh, streamlined foundation for real-time bidding (RTB). The move comes as the sector grapples with a decade’s worth of bolted-on innovations, latency headaches, and a spaghetti bowl of fragmented systems especially under pressure during high-volume events.
Rather than patching up the cracks, IAB Tech Lab wants to rebuild the pipes altogether.
“The digital ad ecosystem has grown enormously, but the technical foundation hasn’t kept up,” said IAB Tech Lab CEO Anthony Katsur. “The way ad tech is built today is complex and inefficient. This project isn’t about tweaks, it’s about designing a future-proof foundation from the ground up.”
At the heart of the project is the standardisation of container technology for OpenRTB. Think of it as an elegant Bento box for real-time bidding, modular, measurable, and ready to scale. The new framework introduces common standards for everything from network protocols and metrics to image performance and data privacy, offering supply-side platforms (SSPs), demand-side platforms (DSPs), and other players a shared architecture to innovate on without reinventing the wheel each time.
Crucially, it allows for plug-and-play functionality: ad tech partners can be added or swapped mid-auction without slowing things down or breaking core systems.
“This gives engineers a shared technical foundation to build from,” said Chalice AI head of product Meera Choudhury. “By establishing clarity on what’s required, we can build in a way that respects those boundaries.”
The IAB Tech Lab is actively rallying participation from across the ecosystem publishers, platforms, buyers, and technology vendors alike to co-develop the next-gen container framework.
So, while OpenRTB isn’t being scrapped, it’s getting a much-needed house remodel. And with standardised containers at the core, the programmatic future might just be cleaner, faster, and finally scalable with less duct tape.
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
