- Blog
State of Invalid Traffic & Ad Fraud Q2 2025
Cybersecurity Content Specialist
Why Invalid Traffic Is Still a Big Problem
Digital advertising continues to grow, but so does fraud. Invalid traffic (IVT) refers to clicks, impressions, and visits that don’t come from real users. Instead, they’re generated by bots, click farms, or automated scripts. The result: wasted budgets, polluted analytics, and campaigns optimized for fake users instead of real people.
The numbers remain high:
- Pixelate Q2 2025 reports that 18.6% of global desktop & mobile web traffic, 28.5% of mobile app traffic, and 17.9% of connected TV traffic were invalid.
- fraud0’s Unmasking the Shadows 2025 shows that 21.3% of all onsite traffic is invalid—with the share rising to 32% when looking at individual users.
In other words, around one in five interactions online is not human.
Comparing Pixelate and fraud0 Findings
Scale of the Threat
Both reports confirm the same conclusion: IVT is everywhere. fraud0’s onsite analysis shows invalid traffic across all major channels, with Owned Media & Direct (37%), Paid Social (21%), and Programmatic Display & Retargeting (20%) among the most affected . Pixelate, on the other hand, highlights high IVT levels in mobile apps (28.5%) and CTV (17.9%), showing that fraud is not limited to the web .
Takeaway: regardless of channel, IVT is a consistent drain on ad budgets.
Conversion Fraud and Returning Bots
fraud0’s 2025 report also dives deeper into user behavior:
- Nearly 10% of all conversions (purchases, form fills, sign-ups) were flagged as invalid.
- 5.2% of bot users returned within the quarter, generating nearly 18% of all bot sessions—showing that repeat bots can heavily distort metrics.
Pixelate focuses on impression-level fraud but reaches similar conclusions about waste in the ecosystem.
Ad Impressions & MFA Sites
Looking at ad placements, fraud0 found that:
- 21% of impressions were invalid (with 41% in app placements vs. 15% on web).
- 31% of impressions appeared on MFA (“Made for Advertising”) sites, often low-quality environments that drain spend.
- Only 38% of impressions were viewable at all.
Pixelate reports slightly lower but still concerning averages across global programmatic traffic, showing that inefficiencies remain widespread.
Why This Matters
Invalid traffic isn’t just a technical issue. It directly impacts:
- Ad spend – budgets are wasted on fake clicks and impressions.
- Analytics – KPIs and conversion rates are inflated or skewed.
- Targeting – bots enter consent and audience data, meaning campaigns are retargeted at fake users.
- Trust – low-quality placements and fake conversions reduce confidence in digital advertising.
How to Respond
Measure Traffic Directly
Pixelate and fraud0 benchmarks provide a useful overview, but the real picture comes from measuring traffic onsite, as fraud0 does. This uncovers the bots that platforms often miss.
Related reading: How fraud0 works.
Watch Out for Risky Channels
faud0 shows Owned Media, Paid Social, and Programmatic as heavily affected. Choosing safer channels, or monitoring them more closely, can protect budgets.
Related reading: Smarter Ad Spending Boosts Performance in a World Full of Fraud.
Clean Audience and Conversion Data
Since bots also generate conversions and give consent, regular data cleaning is essential to avoid optimizing toward fake users.
Related reading: The Importance of CLEAN First-Party Data.
Use Real-Time Detection
Both reports underline the rise of AI-driven fraud. The solution: AI-powered detection systems that detect and block bots in real time before they distort metrics or waste your budget.
Looking Ahead
fraud0’s Unmasking the Shadows 2025 notes an upcoming challenge: AI agents acting on behalf of real users. Unlike malicious bots, these agents may browse, compare, or even purchase legitimately . This will blur the line between harmful automation and helpful intent, making precise measurement more important than ever.
Related reading: Marketing in the AI Era: Ready for AI Agents & Machine Customers.
Final Thoughts
The State of Invalid Traffic & Ad Fraud Q2 2025 is clear: fake traffic continues to undermine digital advertising. Pixelate’s global benchmarks provide a macro view, while fraud0’s latest report adds detail on conversions, repeat bots, and placement quality.
The conclusion is simple: if you’re not filtering IVT, you’re paying for it.
Want to know your true IVT rate? Test fraud0 for free.
See what’s hidden: from the quality of website traffic to the reality of ad placements. Insights drawn from billions of data points across our customer base in 2024.
- Published: August 28, 2025
- Updated: August 28, 2025
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