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MAQ Index 2026 | Confiant
MAQ Index 2026 | 22nd Edition

Risk Doesn't Disappear.
It Gets Passed Along.

One in every 133 impressions delivered across premium inventory was dangerous or highly disruptive to the end user. The 2026 MAQ Index examines where risk enters the ad economy, how it moves through the system, and what it ultimately costs in revenue, operational overhead, and user trust. Findings are based on observations from the 2025 reporting period.

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1T+
Impressions monitored Jan–Dec 2025 across tens of thousands of premium sites
22nd
Edition — oldest & most comprehensive study of creative quality in programmatic
13
Platforms analyzed — accounting for the majority of global programmatic volume
6
Threat categories — every one running continuously through legitimate inventory
What's Inside

Four Reports. One Complete Picture.

IndustryShifts@3x
Part 1
Industry Risk Shifts
The security rate reached its highest recorded level in 2025, and every quarter exceeded what used to be considered a bad year. Japan. France. Spain. Great Britain. We show you the map.
See the full breakdown→
Before-The-Numbers
Part 2
Threat Patterns
Malware disguised as AI products your users are actively searching for. Investment scams running AI-generated deepfakes of politicians targeting retirees in three countries simultaneously. Forced redirects using stolen Adobe and Google creatives to hijack 59 million sessions.
Get the threat intelligence→
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Part 3
Risk Receipts
This section compares how 13 major platforms responded to the same threats, revealing where risk was reduced quickly and where it was allowed to persist. The highest security rate was 300 times that of the lowest.
See the platform comparisons→
Teamwork
Part 4
The Future of Risk
Content moves faster than review cycles. Campaigns outpace enforcement. Cybersecurity already solved this — shared intelligence, coordinated responses, cross-industry standards. Ad tech is arriving at the same conclusion.
Read the full conclusions→

Download the 2026 MAQ Index

The most comprehensive annual study of creative quality and security risk in programmatic advertising. 1 trillion impressions. 13 platforms. Six threat categories.