---
title: "Keep your ads off named domains and apps"
description: "Block the domains and app bundles your ads must not show on — a Domain or App Package Exclude rule per value for a handful, a preset list targeted by one Preset Domains or Preset App Packages rule for hundreds — and what a domain rule does and does not match."
type: "howto"
audience: [network-manager, admin]
keywords: [brand safety, blocked domains, domain blacklist, domain blocklist, block domains, app package, preset domains, preset app packages, bcat, advertiser domains]
ui_path: "Account → Advertisers → campaign → Targeting"
---

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/llms.txt. Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. Append .md to any documentation page URL to get its markdown version.

# Keep your ads off named domains and apps

## What it is and why

Domain and app-package rules gate the **inventory context** a creative runs in, and an **Exclude**
rule is a hard filter: a brand stays off the sites and apps you name, or a publisher refuses demand
pointed at certain contexts. For a long list, a preset group maintained once by the administrator
keeps every rule that references it current. This is the second layer of
[Use case: brand safety with category rules, domain lists and advertiser blocks](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/use-cases/brand-safety-controls.md).

**Example.** The advertisers who asked to stay off tabloid-style domains get one **Preset Domains**
rule set to **Exclude** against the list *Tabloid domains* — 40 domains today, and every domain
the administrator adds to the list later, without touching the campaigns.

## Typical scenarios

| You want to avoid… | Use | Does it stop demand? | Lives in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your brand's ads on **40 named tabloid domains** or **a dozen app bundles** | **Domain / App-package lists** (one rule per value, or a preset list) | Yes | Targeting / Pre-targeting cards |

## Step by step

One Exclude rule per value for a few; a preset list for a real blocklist.

If you don't want your ads to show on particular sites or apps, block those domains or app
bundles with an **Exclude** rule. Category rules steer pairing; domain and app-package rules gate
the **inventory context** a creative runs in. Use them on the demand side to keep a brand off
named sites and apps, or on the supply side to refuse demand pointed at certain contexts.

1. **A handful of values:** open the entity's **Targeting** (demand) or **Pre-targeting** (supply)
   card and add a **Domain** or **App Package** rule with **Exclude** — one value per rule
   (**Channel** accepts a comma / semicolon list in one click).
2. **Hundreds of values (a real blocklist):** have your network administrator build a **preset
   group** once — a named domain or app-package list — then target the whole list with a single
   **Preset Domains** / **Preset App Packages** rule set to **Exclude**. Updating the list later
   updates every rule that references it ([Preset groups](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/targeting/presets.md)).

   ![Targeting card with a Preset Domains rule set to Exclude, the preset list picked](https://epom.com/docs-images/ad-server/brand-safety-controls/preset-domains-exclude.webp)

## Caveats and exceptions

**Domain and app-package lists**

- **"Advertiser domains":** Epom's domain rules match the **inventory** domain a request comes
  from, not a *landing-page* domain declared by a bidder. For programmatic demand, the network
  manager can additionally send blocked categories to DSPs — the **Blocked IAB category** field on
  the OpenRTB card (called *RTB configuration* on a placement), sent as `bcat` in bid requests.
  That is a request the DSP may ignore, not a filter: Epom never checks the creative that comes
  back. See [Keep unwanted ad categories off your inventory](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/targeting/block-ad-categories-on-inventory.md)
  and [The three category systems](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/admin/taxonomies.md#the-three-category-systems).
- A preset rule stores a *reference* to the group, not a copy — emptying or repurposing the group
  instantly changes every entity that targets it. Check what uses a list before clearing it.
- Each rule type is switched on per role. Demand-side **Channel** is on for the stock Network
  Manager role; demand-side **Domains** is off for every stock role, and so are the supply-side
  **Domains**, **App Package** and both **Preset** rules. The stock Advertiser role has neither
  Domains nor Channel. A type missing from the card's **Add** list has to be switched on for your
  role — ask your network manager.

The caveats that apply to every layer — what none of the four controls can do, competitive separation and the roles — are on [Use case: brand safety with category rules, domain lists and advertiser blocks](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/use-cases/brand-safety-controls.md#caveats-and-exceptions).

## Not working?

An ad showed on a blocked domain, or the rule type is missing? The likely causes:

| Symptom | Likely cause | Check |
|---|---|---|
| A DSP creative in a blocked IAB category rendered | `bcat` is advisory; the DSP ignored it | Block the DSP partner's banner by name from **Banners probability** |
| A brand's ad showed on a domain in the blocklist | The rule matched the landing-page domain by mistake, or the preset list was emptied / repurposed | Domain rules match the **inventory** domain; Admin → preset group → what uses it |
| No **Domain** / **App Package** / **Preset** type in the card's Add list | The type is off for the role (off for every stock role on the supply side) | Admin → Users and roles → Targeting / Pre-targeting permissions |

The other layers, and the verification step, are on [Use case: brand safety with category rules, domain lists and advertiser blocks](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/use-cases/brand-safety-controls.md#not-working).

## Reference

The preset lists: [Preset groups — domains, IP ranges, app packages](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/targeting/presets.md); what `bcat` does for DSP demand:
[Keep unwanted ad categories off your inventory](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/targeting/block-ad-categories-on-inventory.md). Which permission each control needs is in the [reference table](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/use-cases/brand-safety-controls.md#reference) of the use case.

## Related

- [Use case: brand safety with category rules, domain lists and advertiser blocks](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/use-cases/brand-safety-controls.md)
- [Block a named advertiser, campaign or banner from your inventory](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/use-cases/brand-safety-controls-named-blocks.md)
- [Steer automatic pairing with a category rule](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/use-cases/brand-safety-controls-category-rules.md)
- [Preset groups — domains, IP ranges, app packages](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/targeting/presets.md)
- [Keep unwanted ad categories off your inventory](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/targeting/block-ad-categories-on-inventory.md)
- [Targeting dimension reference](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/reference/targeting-dimensions.md)