Polygraph

Polygraph is ad fraud detection software that catches bot clicks and fake leads on Google, Microsoft and Meta ads, billed per click with a monthly minimum.

Polygraph tells an advertiser which paid clicks came from real people and which came from bots. The Berlin company behind it, also named Polygraph, has focused on protecting advertisers since 2022. Bot traffic raises click costs, fills sales pipelines with fake leads and teaches bidding algorithms to chase more bots. Polygraph works on the landing page after the click, so it needs no access to the ad accounts themselves. Detection looks for the tricks bots rely on: browser tampering, automation signals, execution flaws and the bot frameworks underneath. Device fingerprints are logged but never trusted on their own, and decisions do not rest on IP addresses. When a bot is detected, Polygraph disables it before it can submit a lead, add to a cart, join a mailing list or open an account. The dashboard lists each fake click and explains why it was flagged. For refunds, the service supplies the dates, times, IP addresses and reasons behind those clicks. Retraining then steers Performance Max and Meta Advantage+ toward human visitors and genuine leads. The service is aimed at business owners paying for clicks, digital marketers running campaigns, sales teams tired of junk leads and internal auditors checking agency spend. It suits advertisers with steady paid traffic on search or social, because billing runs per ad click above a monthly minimum, capped by a spending limit the customer sets. Advertisers with enough monthly clicks can apply for a traffic audit before committing. Signing up opens a self-serve dashboard account, and every account has a dedicated account manager. Installation is a script in the landing page head or a tag in Google Tag Manager. Each ad then carries campaign, source and term UTM parameters so clicks can be matched to the traffic that arrives. A common job is guarding a lead form behind a Google Ads or Microsoft Ads campaign, where bot submissions would otherwise reach the CRM. Teams on Meta Advantage+ use it to remove fake leads before they become optimisation signals. Internal auditors and risk control staff use the click evidence to dispute invalid traffic the networks have already billed.