Ketch Launches Iris, A Patent-Pending Scanning Algorithm To Replace Incomplete Cookie Scanning Tools

New cohort-based approach finally gives teams a complete view of website data trackers, replacing the random sampling and unreliable results that have plagued cookie scanning

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ketch, the AI Privacy Company, today unveiled Iris, a patent-pending, cohort-based scanning algorithm to replace legacy cookie scanning approaches. Designed for privacy and tech teams, Iris applies AI-driven clustering to deliver a complete view of every cookie and tracker running on a digital property.

Existing cookie scanning methods suffer from two structural shortcomings: they rely on fixed, random sampling, and they cap coverage once it becomes too costly to sustain. Together, these produce scan results that shift with every run and disclosures privacy teams can't fully stand behind. Iris closes that gap. Using AI-driven cohorting, Iris groups pages by their actual tracker behavior, ensuring every distinct pattern on a site is analyzed in depth, with every cycle both confirming known trackers and exploring new territory. The result is stable, defensible coverage that compounds over time instead of resetting with every scan.

"When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Unfortunately, that’s the state of scanning today," says Max Anderson, Co-founder and Head of Product at Ketch. "Every vendor is trying to solve a risk problem by scanning more pages, capping it when the volume is too expensive to sustain. But the goal has never been volume; teams need to understand risk. That takes intelligence, not a bigger hammer. That's exactly what AI-driven cohorting brings to this."

The patent-pending algorithm includes the following innovations:

• Signature-based cohorting that groups pages by observed tracker behavior, not URL structure
• Automatic discovery and re-cohorting as new page types, personalization, or A/B tests emerge
• Intelligent representative sampling that delivers full cohort coverage without scanning every page
• Confirm-and-discover cycles that compound coverage over time rather than resetting each scan
• Hop-distance classification that distinguishes a site's own tags from vendors several syncs downstream

"Iris isn't just a better way to scan,” says Anderson. “It's an intelligent, efficient algorithm that gets to the heart of what businesses require in the AI era: continuous, proactive risk management.”

Iris is available today, powering tracker scanning within Ketch Data Sentry and Ketch Consent Management. Learn more here.

About Ketch

Ketch is the AI Privacy Company. Ketch permissioning infrastructure helps businesses collect and use people’s data responsibly: respecting consent and preferences, meeting privacy requirements, and ensuring all data is AI-ready. Brands around the world use Ketch to reduce risk, enable data-driven growth, and build trust with customers. Learn more at ketch.com.