How it works

What happens between a subscriber opening your page and you getting paid.

In short

  • Your page announces your Publisher ID.
  • The subscriber's browser extension finds it and measures their time on your content.
  • On your own website, the extension also proves membership, so your server can serve a clean page.
  • Each month, subscription money is shared out by that time.

Your Publisher ID

This is an example Publisher ID. Replace it with your own before using it.

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1. Your page announces your ID

The extension looks in three places. You only need one.

Where you put the ID Good for Integration type
A response header Any website with a server or proxy Website
A meta tag in the page Static websites without server code Website
The page content, such as a video description Platforms you don't control Creator

A website integration earns at full weight. In return, you must give subscribers the clean page and included paid access.

A creator integration is for your content on someone else's platform. That platform keeps its ads, so each subscriber decides how much of your time-based share you receive.

Connect your website →

2. The extension measures time

When a subscriber opens your page, their extension finds your Publisher ID. It then measures time while your tab is in front and the browser window is focused.

  • Counts: reading or watching, even without touching the mouse or keyboard.
  • Doesn't count: background tabs, or time after switching to another app.

The extension uploads activity about once an hour while the subscriber's membership is active.

3. Your integration appears in your dashboard

After an upload is accepted and processed, your website or channel appears in Websites & creators. New integrations start as Observed and can already earn. Select Confirm if it's yours, or Remove if it isn't.

Usage figures are updated once a day, so they are not live counters.

What each status means →

4. Your server serves a clean page

This step is for website integrations only. If your website is already clean, skip it.

  1. Your server announces you. Each response carries Better-Web-Publisher: <your ID>.
  2. The extension proves the visitor is a subscriber. It adds a Better-Web-Token header to their requests. The token only works on your hostname.
  3. Your server checks the token and decides. Our SDK checks it on your server, without calling us. If the visitor is a subscriber, serve the clean page. Everyone else sees your website as usual.

The extension discovers your website from a page it has already loaded. So a subscriber's very first request to your website may arrive without a token. The next page or a reload carries it.

Remove ads for subscribers →

5. You get paid monthly

Earnings are calculated per calendar month from subscribers' time and their funding preferences. Transfers go to your Stripe account once your balance reaches $30 and your payout setup is complete.

How you earn →

What data the extension sends

The extension sends:

  • publisher IDs, and how each was detected
  • hostnames
  • page-view counts and measured time
  • for creator integrations, the full page URL

Each upload is linked to the subscriber's account. The platform also records the extension version, the IP address and the time it received the upload.

Activity is linked to accounts within Zero Ad Network. Publishers see totals, not who the subscribers are. See the Privacy Policy for details.

Compare the Freedom and ordinary experience

Subscribers and publishers can switch between the two versions of a website from the extension popup.

  1. Select Turn Freedom off, then reload the page. You now see what ordinary visitors see.
  2. Select Turn Freedom on, then reload again. You see the subscriber page, as long as your access is still valid.

Good to know:

  • It applies to every website, not just the current tab.
  • It pauses measurement too. While Freedom is off, the extension doesn't discover publishers or record visits. Activity recorded before you turned it off is still uploaded.
  • It survives restarts. The setting stays until you change it or reset the extension.
  • Websites can remember you. A website's own login, cookies or cache can keep showing the subscriber page. Turning Freedom off doesn't clear those.