Funding Signal without compromising the signal.

Advertising status

Signal has prepared Google AdSense for selected public driver guides and published news and advice articles. Google’s European consent and US state privacy messages are published. Google currently lists the site as getting ready, so delivery remains subject to site approval and available ads. Ad requests stay paused until the relevant regional privacy checks pass. Free vehicle adverts created by sellers are a separate service.

Signal requests non-personalised ads. These use the public page context and general location rather than a profile of your previous browsing. They can still use cookies for repeat-ad limits and aggregated reporting. Visitors in the UK, EEA and Switzerland must complete the required advertising opt-in; US visitors have the separate privacy controls described below. Google decides whether an eligible placement is filled; an empty page does not mean the controls have failed.

Advertising controls

• An explicit page allowlist and content check protect all routes outside the selected public editorial pages.
• For the UK, EEA and Switzerland, Google’s certified consent message manages advertising opt-in through the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework. Signal’s separate Cookie settings control optional Google Analytics.
• For the US, a first-party country check and Google’s ready Global Privacy Platform privacy signals govern delivery. A sale, sharing or targeted-advertising opt-out, or a Global Privacy Control signal, pauses ads entirely. Unknown or incomplete privacy information keeps ads paused. Signal’s analytics checkbox cannot authorise advertising.
• Only restrained placements within the public page are enabled. Overlay, anchor, vignette and ad-intent formats are disabled.
• The separate Signal-managed campaign and billing system remains disabled. Google AdSense supplies and labels its own ads.

Where ads may appear

Ads may appear within selected public driver guides and published news and advice articles that contain editorial content. Placement does not mean endorsement by Signal.

Ads are excluded from Signal Trade and motor-trade pages, account and administration areas, sign-in, private vehicle records, appraisals, buying plans, valuation tools, diagnostic tools and results, and the homepage. Public seller adverts, community pages and policy pages are also outside the advertising allowlist. An unknown or unapproved route does not receive advertising code.

Clear labelling

• Every paid placement must be immediately recognisable as “Advertisement”, “Sponsored” or an equally clear label before a user interacts with it.
• Advertorial or sponsored guide material must identify the commercial relationship at the start and remain visually distinct from independent Signal guidance.
• A commercial partner must not appear to be an ordinary community user, independent mechanic or neutral vehicle-data source.
• The advertiser identity and destination must be clear. Disclosures must remain legible on mobile and must not rely on colour alone.

Diagnostic independence

Payment cannot change a fault ranking, evidence grade, safety warning, valuation, market evidence label or buying recommendation. Advertisers cannot buy favourable diagnostic or valuation treatment.

Signal will not use a person’s symptoms, OBD codes, dashboard warnings, diagnosis result, private vehicle record, uploaded evidence, trade appraisal or precise location to target advertising.

Advertiser requirements

• Claims must be accurate, supportable, current and compliant with the UK CAP Code and applicable consumer law.
• Vehicle parts, tools and services must not be presented in a way that encourages unsafe installation, removal of emissions or safety equipment, odometer interference or unlawful road use.
• Finance, insurance, warranties, investments and other regulated products require evidence of the relevant authority and additional review before acceptance.
• Counterfeit goods, stolen-vehicle services, fabricated history, misleading “guaranteed” results, exploitative pricing and deceptive interfaces are prohibited.
• Landing pages must match the advert, use secure HTTPS and clearly identify the business responsible for the offer.

Privacy and measurement

Google Ireland Limited provides the AdSense service for Signal. When the advertising and consent services are contacted, Google receives necessary request information including your network address, browser and device information, the public page URL and consent status. Google and the providers identified in its consent message may process information under the purposes and choices shown there.

Signal does not request personalised ads or send names, contact details, registrations, symptoms, diagnostic media, private account records or trade information to target ads. Google records European choices through the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework and US choices through the IAB Global Privacy Platform. These browser choices are separate from your Signal account and analytics preference.

The regional check uses Cloudflare’s country information, preferably from the server request. If that is unavailable, the browser can read Cloudflare’s diagnostic response on Signal’s own domain and use only its host and country fields. That response also contains connection and network details, including an IP address; Signal discards those other fields rather than retaining them or sending them to an advertising provider. The resulting decision keeps only US — yes, no or unknown — and whether Global Privacy Control is signalled. This check does not save an IP address, state, city or advertising location profile. A non-US or unknown result does not authorise the US advertising route.

To manage advertising choices, open a public driver guide or published news article. Use Advertising privacy choices in the footer for the European consent message. For applicable US state choices, use Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information to open Google’s standard confirmation dialog. Opening a privacy control pauses ad requests while you review it. Declining required European consent, opting out in the US or sending Global Privacy Control keeps ads paused. Changing a choice does not erase information already received by a provider. See our cookie policy, privacy notice, how Google uses information from partner sites and Google’s advertising information.

Review and complaints

Google AdSense ads are supplied through Google’s advertising systems rather than individually approved by Signal. Signal can review ad categories and block or report unsuitable ads. Any future campaign sold directly by Signal requires human review of the advertiser, claims, destination, disclosure and placement before activation.

To report a paid placement or discuss advertising, email info@signalautomotive.uk with the page, advertiser and reason. An advertising complaint will not change your access to the service.