Ads Network — not live

Built and ready. Advertiser signup, campaigns, and ad serving stay off until Ads System is toggled on in admin. This page is the product brief — not an open network.

Monetize without selling your readers out

Threadline Ads will be contextual, first-party, and optional when we turn the system on. Unlike Disqus, we will never inject ads you cannot control or opt out of on paid plans.

See Publisher plan Back to product

How the network works

A marketplace with a privacy hard-line

When Ads System is on, advertisers will create campaigns and publishers can opt sites in. A comment thread will run a small contextual auction against page topics — then share revenue with the publisher.

01

Page topics

The widget sends the thread URL and page topics — not a reader profile.

02

Contextual auction

Eligible campaigns bid on those topics. Brand-safety blocks apply. Highest bid wins.

03

Viewable serve

An impression counts after the unit is actually visible — not just requested.

04

Revenue share

Publishers keep 70%. Advertisers see spend, CTR, and pacing in their dashboard.

Who’s on the network

Publishers earn. Advertisers reach topics — not people.

For publishers

  • Opt in per site from your dashboard
  • Block categories and pause anytime
  • Keep 70% of ad revenue
  • Ads sit inside the comment layer you already trust

For advertisers

  • Target page topics, not reader dossiers
  • Brand-safety lists exclude unsafe contexts
  • Daily budgets, CPM bids, and pacing controls
  • Click fraud velocity checks on every click

Targeting, explained

Contextual topics — nothing else

When topics are available on a page, campaigns match those topics. If topics are empty, the network can fall back to run-of-network among active campaigns. In both cases, personal data is never used — behavioral signals are not part of the auction.

Never used

  • Cross-site behavioral profiles
  • Fingerprinting for ad targeting
  • Forced ads on Free/Pro without approval
  • Autoplay video or popunders

Always true

  • Topic-based matching only
  • Publisher opt-in per site
  • “Why this ad?” transparency
  • Reader opt-out (stored 1 year)

Placement

Where ads appear

Units render inside the Threadline comment widget (for example, between comments or at the thread footer). Readers can open “Why this ad?” for a plain-language explanation, dismiss a unit, or opt out of ads for that site.

70%to the publisher
30%network share

Billing uses CPM. Viewable impressions (after visibility) debit advertiser budgets and credit publisher revenue — with fraud filters on duplicate and high-velocity clicks.

Contextual onlyAds match page topic — never reader behavior or cross-site profiles.
Publisher controlOpt in per site. Block categories. Pause campaigns anytime.
Reader-respectingNo autoplay video. No popunders. No dark patterns.
Transparent reportingImpressions, CTR, and revenue in your dashboard — exportable.

Available on Publisher plan

Free and Pro tiers never show Threadline-injected ads without your approval. Publisher unlocks the full ads dashboard, category controls, and revenue share.

View pricing