Platform
Real people only
A switch on each ad platform connection. Turn it on and conversions from bots and datacenter traffic stop going to that platform, so your ads learn only from real buyers.
What it is
Real people only is a setting on each connected ad platform. When it is on, DataCops checks the bot and network verdict of the visit behind every conversion before sending it. If the visit was a bot or came from a datacenter, the conversion is not sent to that platform. It is logged instead, with the reason. The switch is off for new sites until you turn it on.DataCops already scores every visit for bots and fraud. Real people only is where that score decides what your ad platforms are told. You choose it per platform, so you can run it on Meta and Google Ads and leave another platform as it is while you compare.
Why it matters
A conversion is not just a number in a report. It is a lesson for the ad platform's algorithm. When Meta, Google Ads or TikTok receive a purchase or a lead, they look for more people like the one who converted. If that "person" was a bot filling your form from a cloud server, the platform goes looking for more bots.
This is how fake leads quietly drain lead-gen budgets. The form fills look like wins, the platform learns from them, and next month you get more of them. Removing those conversions before they are sent keeps the learning clean. Fewer conversions may reach the platform, but every one that does is a real person.
How it works
Every conversion passes through the same steps before any ad platform sees it.
- The visit is scored. When the visitor lands, DataCops reads the network (residential, datacenter, VPN, proxy, Tor) and the browser (automation tells, fingerprint, behaviour) and forms one verdict.
- The verdict rides with the conversion. When that visitor buys, signs up or fills a form, four flags are attached to the conversion: bot, datacenter IP, proxy/VPN/Tor, and no user agent.
- Each platform checks its own setting. Just before sending to a platform, DataCops looks at that platform's Real people only switch. If it is on and any ticked check matches, the send is skipped.
- The skip is logged. The conversion is recorded as skipped for that platform with the reason "Visitor looked fraudulent", so nothing disappears without a trace.
With the switch off, the same flags are still attached, but only as information. Everything is sent, and you can still see in your dashboard how much of it came from bots.
This check sits alongside the other delivery checks DataCops already runs, like consent, the event mapping and the duplicate-sale check. A conversion has to pass all of them to be sent.
What it checks
There are four checks. When you first turn the switch on, the two safest ones are ticked for you. You can change them any time.
| Check | When switched on | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Bots | On | The visit was ruled automated: headless browsers, scrapers, stealth automation. |
| Datacenter IP | On | The visit came from a cloud or hosting network, not a home or phone connection. |
| VPN, proxy or Tor | Off (you can tick it) | The visit came through a masked network. Many real B2B buyers sit behind a company VPN, so this one is your call. |
| No user agent | Off (you can tick it) | The browser did not say what it was. Real browsers almost always do, but some privacy tools strip it. |
Bots and datacenter traffic are almost never real buyers, so they are on by default. VPN, proxy and Tor are off by default because a lot of genuine office workers browse through a company VPN. If you sell to consumers, ticking it is usually safe. If you sell to businesses, leave it off or test it first.
Turn it on
- Open your site in the DataCops dashboard and go to the ad platform connection, for example Meta or Google Ads.
- Find the Real people only setting and switch it on.
- Check the boxes. Bots and datacenter IP are ticked already. Add VPN, proxy and Tor, or no user agent, if they fit your business.
- Save. It applies to the next conversion, with no change to your site.
Repeat for each platform you want to protect. It works for any connected ad platform: Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, LinkedIn, Microsoft Ads, Reddit, Pinterest and X. It is available on every plan that has an ad platform connected.
See what was held back
Every conversion that Real people only stops is still written down. In the delivery report, it shows up under that platform as skipped with the reason "Visitor looked fraudulent", along with how many there were and how much conversion value they carried. So you can see exactly what you kept away from each platform, and decide whether to tick more or fewer checks.
Good to know before you start
- You turn it on. New sites send everything until you switch it on, so nothing changes until you decide.
- It is per platform. Each connection has its own switch and its own checks.
- It stops the send, not the record. The conversion still lands in DataCops and in your own reports, marked as a bot.
- It pairs with the edge block. On the Organization plan, repeat bot IPs can also be pushed to your Cloudflare so they are challenged before they reach your site at all.