> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.adlingo.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Inventory Source Authentication
- URL: https://www.adlingo.org/glossary/inventory-source-authentication/
- Published: 2025-01-15T10:42:00.000Z
- Updated: 2025-01-15T10:42:00.000Z
- Description: Methods and protocols for verifying that ad inventory originates from claimed sources and hasn't been manipulated or misrepresented.
- Author: Travis Lusk
- Tags: Programmatic, #glossary, #Import 2026-10-27 17:05

Confirming that the inventory you are buying is actually from the publisher it claims to be from. Ads.txt, app-ads.txt, sellers.json, and ads.cert are the tools. Together they let you trace inventory back to its source and verify the seller had the right to sell it. None of them work if buyers do not check them. Checking takes about thirty seconds. Most don't.