Amazon is quietly developing an internal ad tech team called ID++, which is part of its long-term strategy to win online advertising in the post-cookie era.

The team was recently promoted on an Amazon Advertising job posting site, but it has since been removed. Amazon said in the job posting: “The ID++ Program supports the next generation of innovative products and services that will fuel the future growth of Amazon’s ad solutions in an identity-restricted world.”

Amazon removed the job description after Ad Age reached out for comment. One marketing technology partner, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were aware of ID++, and that Amazon had been discussing the program with partners. 

“This is an internal project team that is developing a range of modeled and contextual addressability solutions,” an Amazon spokesperson told Ad Age by email.

Also read: A guide to Google’s cookie replacement tests

Addressability allows for better targeting and measuring of specific audiences. Without cookies, internet ads will be harder to track. Amazon’s spokesperson did not provide further details about ID++ and referred Ad Age to a host of other ad tech upgrades Amazon delivered in recent months, pointing to its general roadmap in this area. For instance, in October, at its yearly ad tech showcase unBoxed, Amazon Publisher Cloud launched, which allows publishers to arrange programmatic ad deals through secure computing environments known as clean rooms. The publisher cloud signed partners, including Dotdash Meredith, Fandom and NBCUniversal.

The ad tech executive who had heard of ID++ said that Amazon was still explaining details of that program to partners, but it could further help advertisers and publishers once cookies go away. Starting in 2017, Apple shut down third-party cookies and other trackers on Safari and iPhones. Google is following suit with plans to extinguish third-party cookies on Chrome browsers by the end of the year. Advertisers and publishers are looking for new ways to effectively target and measure ads. Meanwhile, Amazon’s growing presence in digital advertising gives it a formidable position in the future of the ecosystem—on the buy and sell sides.

There are many ad tech companies banking on alternatives to cookies, including universal identifiers from The Trade Desk and LiveRamp. Amazon’s spokesperson said that despite the name of the team, ID++ was not an ID.

Google, meanwhile, is developing Privacy Sandbox, a platform run by APIs—application programming interfaces—which ad tech vendors would adopt to buy and sell ads without leaking data from browsers and devices. Clean rooms, and other trusted computing environments, have been developed throughout the industry, so brands and ad tech vendors can use AI to make sense of the information and apply it to advertising strategies without leaking data.  

Related: Amazon reveals new data clean room

Amazon has many advantages to rival DSPs to prepare for the end of cookies because of its powerful first-party data, the ad tech exec said. “Amazon has enough first-party data, computing power, shoppers and all this stuff to really win in the space,” said the ad tech exec, referring to ID++.

Amazon has high visibility into the consumers who log into its services, but its DSP, like all demand-side platforms, loses signals about consumers as cookies drop off, the ad tech exec said. To counter the signal loss, Amazon has already developed a suite of tools through its DSP, Amazon Marketing Cloud and Amazon Publisher Services.

“The goal of the ID++ program is not only sustaining [Amazon’s] advertising business as industry-wide identity changes roll out, but also [to] seize the opportunities to position Amazon as the leader in ad tech,” Amazon said in its now-deleted job posting about the team.

Amazon champions new ad tech

It’s clear that Amazon understands its potential to shape the post-cookie programmatic ad marketplace. Indeed, last month, Kelly MacLean, VP of Amazon DSP, presented at IAB’s leadership summit, where she discussed ongoing work to move the industry beyond cookies. MacLean talked about advances to Amazon DSP, through which Amazon gave advertisers more ways to play with first- and third-party data in clean rooms to enhance their programmatic campaigns.

For instance, Champion, the apparel brand, used Amazon Marketing Cloud, “to understand shoppers’ journeys across Amazon Ads and their [Champion’s] direct-to-consumer sites,” MacLean said at the IAB meeting, adding that the clean rooms make it possible to use signals without moving or copying data.

MacLean did not mention ID++ in her IAB address, but she indicated Amazon is working on more ways to help advertisers and publishers.

“As we embrace modeled-based solutions and improve trust with customers,” MacLean said, “we can apply a similar logic to build trust between advertisers and publishers.”

MacLean added: “One way to create a more transparent and effective spend is to bring advertisers and publishers closer together.”