AdPolice
AdPolice is a bootstrapped Hamburg-based SaaS company, founded in 2008, that provides brand protection, affiliate fraud detection, and paid search compliance monitoring for 300+ enterprise brands globally via its BrandProtect platform.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What AdPolice does
AdPolice GmbH is a Hamburg-based SaaS company founded in 2008 by Daniel Karlović and Markus Krapf that provides brand protection, affiliate fraud detection, and paid search compliance monitoring for enterprise brands. The company's core platform, BrandProtect (also marketed as BrandWatch), monitors brand keywords and ads across more than 500 search engines in over 130 countries, major shopping platforms (Amazon, Google Shopping), social media, and 700+ top-level domains to detect brand abuse, affiliate fraud, reseller fraud, and competitor violations. Detection feeds into an automation engine that supports one-click takedown reporting to search engines, affiliate networks, and resellers, with legally secure screenshot documentation as evidence.
The company complements its core offering with IndustryWatch, a competitive intelligence product for search engine advertising launched in 2016, and a portfolio of add-on modules including SEA Auto Takedown, Affiliate Auto Takedown, Reseller Auto Takedown, Brandbidder Management, and Search Compliance. AdPolice sells primarily through direct enterprise field sales with regional sales presence in Germany (Hamburg HQ), the United Kingdom (London), and Brazil (Curitiba), supported by multilingual websites in English, German, and Portuguese. Pricing is quote-based on annual subscriptions, with a free 7-day trial monitoring period and free brand analysis as lead generation tools. The customer base spans 300+ brands across travel, fashion, beauty, retail, automotive, software, and telecommunications, including Adobe, Zalando, Sephora, SKY, TUI, JYSK, Office Depot Europe, Viking, and GORE. AdPolice is bootstrapped and founder-owned with no disclosed external funding.
AdPolice firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- AdPolice
- Legal name
- AdPolice GmbH
- Website
- https://adpolice.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- AdPolice is a bootstrapped Hamburg-based SaaS company, founded in 2008, that provides brand protection, affiliate fraud detection, and paid search compliance monitoring for 300+ enterprise brands globally via its BrandProtect platform.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
AdPolice industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Brand Protection Software
- NAICS
- Advertising Agencies (54181)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising (7310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM) / Paid Search (PPC) (BPAFACAA)
Keywords
Where AdPolice is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
AdPolice business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- BrandProtect Subscription: AdPolice operates on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscription model, charging brands for access to its brand protection platform BrandProtect/BrandWatch. The platform monitors paid search channels, detects affiliate fraud, and provides automated takedown services. Pricing is based on brand/keyword monitoring scope, geographic coverage, and feature tiers.
- IndustryWatch Subscription: A competitive intelligence and market analysis product for search engine advertising, sold as a separate subscription tier to complement the brand protection offering.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | BrandProtect - brand protection for paid search channel |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
AdPolice product offering
Product offeringCore offering
AdPolice sells a SaaS brand-protection platform (BrandProtect / BrandWatch) that monitors paid search channels, shopping platforms, social media, and domain registries across 107 countries to detect brand abuse, ad hijacking, affiliate fraud, reseller fraud, and competitor brand bidding. It couples 24/7 monitoring with automated one-click takedown workflows, legally secure screenshot documentation, and integration APIs. A companion product, IndustryWatch, delivers competitive and market intelligence for SEM campaigns, sold as a separate subscription tier.
Product overview
AdPolice offers a dual-product platform for brand protection and competitive intelligence in paid search marketing. BrandProtect (also referred to as BrandWatch) serves as the core brand protection solution, combining multi-channel monitoring across search engines, shopping platforms, social media, and domains with automated takedown services. IndustryWatch provides competitive analysis and market intelligence for SEM campaigns. The portfolio includes complementary add-on modules such as SEA Auto Takedown, Affiliate Auto Takedown, Reseller Auto Takedown, Brandbidder Management, and Search Compliance, which work together to enable end-to-end brand protection, fraud detection, and competitor monitoring.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- BrandProtect: Multi-channel brand protection monitoring and editing tool that detects brand abuse, affiliate fraud, reseller fraud, and competitor violations in paid search channels.
- BrandWatch
- IndustryWatch
- Brandbidder Management
Products and services
- BrandProtect (also sold as BrandWatch) Multi-channel brand protection SaaS for enterprise brands that monitors paid search, shopping platforms, social media, and domain registries to detect brand abuse, ad hijacking, affiliate fraud, reseller fraud, and competitor brand bidding. It includes automated takedown workflows, legally secure screenshot documentation, daily/weekly reporting, and APIs for enterprise integration. Sold as a quote-based annual subscription with a 7-day free trial.
- IndustryWatch Competitive intelligence and market analysis SaaS for search engine advertising that delivers insights into competitor keyword visibility, market share distribution, ad copy, and SEM campaign optimization opportunities. Sold as a separate subscription tier complementing BrandProtect.
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 40% CPC (cost-per-click) reduction for brands using BrandProtect monitoring and enforcement
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use AdPolice
Customer profileNamed customers21 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
AdPolice technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature12 records
AdPolice partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Prospect Global Ltd (Sopro)minorSopro is used for outreach and marketing activities on behalf of AdPolice. As part of these services, personal data may be processed in accordance with applicable data protection laws. Sopro is a B2B data and outreach platform.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves2 records
Expansion highlights4 records
AdPolice competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Fraudlogix: Ad-fraud detection vendor covering invalid traffic and affiliate fraud; narrower overlap with AdPolice on the affiliate-fraud use case but a relevant adjacent competitor for buyer mindshare.
- Similarweb: Public digital intelligence platform offering SEM competitive research that overlaps with IndustryWatch's market-analysis use case; competes on insights but not on enforcement or affiliate-fraud takedowns.
- Semrush: Public SEM/SEO platform whose Advertising Research tools partially overlap with AdPolice IndustryWatch; serves similar SEM buyer personas but lacks AdPolice's automated takedown and affiliate-fraud enforcement capabilities.
- Pixalate: Cross-platform ad-fraud and privacy analytics vendor covering CTV, mobile, and web; overlapping with AdPolice in fraud detection but not focused on paid-search brand bidding or affiliate-program enforcement.
- CHEQ: Go-to-market security and ad-fraud prevention vendor with paid-media protection capabilities that partially overlap AdPolice's brand-protection thesis at the enterprise demand-gen level.
Direct peers
- The Search Monitor: Direct competitor in paid-search brand protection and competitive intelligence; both firms monitor brand bidding, affiliate compliance, and trademark abuse across search engines and were co-listed as fraud-detection technology partners inside Rakuten Advertising Detect.
- Marcode: European search-engine compliance and brand-bidding monitoring peer; co-listed with AdPolice as a Rakuten Advertising Detect integration partner, serving a comparable paid-search compliance use case for enterprise advertisers.
- BrandVerity: Closest US-headquartered direct peer offering paid-search brand protection, affiliate monitoring, and trademark enforcement — directly overlapping with AdPolice BrandProtect in product scope and target buyer.
Broad incumbents
- DoubleVerify: Public, NYSE-listed ad verification and brand safety incumbent; overlaps with AdPolice on brand-infringement and ad-fraud detection but sells a much broader verification platform across display, video, CTV, and social.
- Integral Ad Science (IAS): Global ad verification and brand safety platform; competing incumbent that addresses adjacent brand-protection needs as part of a broader media-quality suite for enterprise marketers and agencies.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
AdPolice social profiles
Digital presenceAdPolice compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
AdPolice financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
AdPolice leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
AdPolice funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
AdPolice M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about AdPolice
What does AdPolice do?
AdPolice sells a SaaS brand-protection platform (BrandProtect / BrandWatch) that monitors paid search channels, shopping platforms, social media, and domain registries across 107 countries to detect brand abuse, ad hijacking, affiliate fraud, reseller fraud, and competitor brand bidding. It couples 24/7 monitoring with automated one-click takedown workflows, legally secure screenshot documentation, and integration APIs. A companion product, IndustryWatch, delivers competitive and market intelligence for SEM campaigns, sold as a separate subscription tier.
Is AdPolice a public or private company?
AdPolice is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was AdPolice founded?
AdPolice was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is AdPolice based?
AdPolice is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does AdPolice make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. BrandProtect Subscription is the primary driver. The others are industryWatch Subscription.
Who are AdPolice's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Fraudlogix, Similarweb, Semrush, Pixalate and CHEQ. Direct peers are The Search Monitor, Marcode and BrandVerity. Broad incumbents are DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science (IAS).
Does AdPolice have an API?
No public API is recorded for AdPolice.
What industry is AdPolice in?
AdPolice's product category is Brand Protection Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFACAA, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) / Paid Search (PPC). Its NAICS code is 54181 and its SIC code is 7310.