Seatext library / BotRefund evidence
How Accurate Is BotRefund's Detection of Suspicious Visits?
BotRefund combines multiple verification layers — real-time behavior analysis, historical pattern review, and client-side behavioral signals — to identify non-human traffic with 99% confidence. The system captures compliance-grade evidence for each flagged click, achieving...
✓ Built for advertisers who need clear, refund-ready traffic evidence.
BotRefund combines multiple verification layers, including real-time behavior analysis and historical pattern review, to keep false positives low and evidence strong. The platform identifies non-human traffic on your site with 99% confidence, builds compliance-grade evidence for every flagged click, and negotiates refunds through the platforms' own invalid-traffic channels — an 83% approval rate across filed claims.
What "detection accuracy" means for ad fraud
Accuracy in bot detection isn't a single number. It covers two distinct goals: catching as much invalid traffic as possible (recall) and avoiding false alarms that waste your team's time (precision). BotRefund targets both by layering network-level signals — IP reputation, VPN and proxy detection, data-center ranges — with on-page behavioral signals that only a browser can see.
Most ad platforms rely on server-side logs. They see the click, the IP, and the timestamp. They miss what happens after the click: whether the visitor scrolled, moved the mouse naturally, paused on a form field, or completed a conversion in milliseconds. BotRefund adds that missing layer.
How BotRefund's multi-layer detection works
The system runs a lightweight script on your landing pages. It records a session replay for every paid click and scores each session against eight behavioral detectors:
- Ghost click detection — catches click activity that happens without the natural sequence of human intent.
- Trap behavior (honeypot) — watches for bots that interact with hidden or deceptive page elements.
- Pointer behavior — flags unnaturally straight, linear mouse paths that rarely appear in real sessions.
- Motion behavior — looks for the absence of humanlike micro-tremor and jitter in pointer movement.
- Speed behavior — identifies interactions faster than a person could realistically perform (sub-millisecond inputs).
- Path behavior — detects movement that snaps to precise grid lines or blocks instead of natural curves.
- Engagement behavior — highlights sessions with no clicks, no scrolling, or no meaningful page interaction.
- Session behavior — catches visit lengths that are too short, too long, or too uniform to be human.
Each detector produces a signal. The platform aggregates them into a session-level verdict. Only sessions that cross a high-confidence threshold are flagged for evidence export and refund claims.
The evidence chain: from click to refund claim
Detection is only useful if the ad platform accepts your proof. BotRefund automates the evidence package that Google and Meta require:
- Click ID capture — automatically records FBCLIDs (Meta) and GCLIDs (Google) for every paid visit.
- Session replay — stores a video-like reconstruction of the flagged session, showing mouse movement, scrolling, timing, and form interactions.
- Behavioral annotations — marks the exact moments where a detector triggered (e.g., "grid-aligned movement at 0:12").
- Compliance-ready report — compiles the click IDs, replays, and detector logs into a format the platforms' invalid-traffic teams accept.
- Claim submission — your team (or BotRefund's enterprise tier) files the dispute through the platform's official channel.
Because the evidence is client-side — recorded in the visitor's browser — it captures signals the ad platform's server logs never see. That is why the approval rate reaches 83% across filed claims.
Key facts
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Detection confidence | 99% | S2, S6 |
| Refund claim approval rate | 83% | S2, S6 |
| Setup time | ~1 minute (one script tag) | S2, S6 |
| Ad-account access required | No | S6 |
| Historical recovery window (Google Ads) | Back to 2017 | S2 |
| Estimated automated traffic share (industry audits) | 9%–20% of paid clicks | S6 |
| Data handling | GDPR-aligned | S6 |
| Detection layers | 8 behavioral detectors + network signals | S2 |
Expert perspective: What affects accuracy in practice
According to BotRefund's fraud-analysis team, three factors move the needle on real-world results:
Traffic volume
The detectors need a baseline of human sessions to distinguish normal variation from anomalies. Very low-volume campaigns (under a few hundred paid clicks per month) produce fewer flagged sessions simply because there is less traffic to analyze.
Placement mix
Meta's Audience Network and Google's Display Network historically carry higher bot rates. If your spend concentrates there, you will see more flagged sessions and larger recoverable amounts. Pure search or feed placements tend to be cleaner.
Landing page complexity
Pages with forms, scroll depth, and interactive elements generate richer behavioral data. A single-page lead form with no scroll and one button click gives the detectors less to work with than a multi-step product page.
Limitations and when the model doesn't apply
- Not a WAF or bot blocker. BotRefund does not block traffic in real time. It detects, records, and produces evidence for refunds. If you need inline blocking, pair it with a dedicated WAF or CDN bot mitigation.
- Client-side only. The script runs in the browser. Visitors who disable JavaScript or use script blockers will not be analyzed. This is a small fraction of traffic but means coverage is not 100%.
- Platform discretion. Google and Meta make the final refund decision. An 83% approval rate is an aggregate across clients; individual claims can be denied if the platform's review team disagrees with the evidence.
- No ad-account API access. The platform cannot auto-file disputes. Your team (or BotRefund's enterprise service) must submit the generated report through each platform's dispute UI.
- Historical data starts at install. The script cannot retroactively analyze past clicks. Recovery for Google Ads goes back to 2017 only because Google's dispute system accepts older claims when you provide the click IDs — but you need the click IDs, which BotRefund only captures after installation.
Terminology
- FBCLID / GCLID — Click identifiers Meta and Google append to landing-page URLs. They link a paid click to a session and are required for refund claims.
- Invalid traffic (IVT) — Google's term for clicks or impressions not from genuine user interest (bots, accidental clicks, competitor fraud).
- Pixel poisoning — When bot conversions feed false signals into Meta's or Google's conversion optimization, causing the algorithm to target more bots.
- Compliance-ready report — Evidence package formatted to match the platform's invalid-traffic dispute requirements (click IDs, timestamps, behavioral annotations, session replays).
- Honeypot / trap element — A hidden page element (link, button, form field) that real users never see or interact with. Interaction signals automation.
FAQ
How does BotRefund differ from Google's or Meta's built-in invalid traffic filters?
Platform filters run server-side and catch known bad IPs, rapid clicking, and duplicate signatures. They miss residential proxy botnets, click farms on real devices, and sophisticated behavioral mimicry. BotRefund adds client-side behavioral proof that the platforms cannot see.
What is the false positive rate?
BotRefund does not publish a standalone false-positive percentage. The 99% confidence figure reflects the combined detector threshold, and the 83% claim approval rate indicates the evidence package meets platform standards in the vast majority of flagged cases.
Can I use BotRefund on a single landing page or do I need it site-wide?
You can install the script on specific pages. For accurate attribution, place it on every page that receives paid traffic (landing pages, thank-you pages, checkout steps). The script is one tag and loads asynchronously.
Does BotRefund work with Google Analytics or other analytics tools?
The script runs independently and captures its own click IDs and session replays.
Is there a minimum spend requirement?
Pricing tiers start below $10K/mo. Enterprise engagement starts at higher spend levels (the pricing page shows tiers from under $10K/mo to over $5M/mo).
How long does a typical refund cycle take?
Refund decisions are made by Google and Meta, and review timelines are set by each platform. BotRefund's evidence package is designed to minimize back-and-forth.
Further reading and comparison sources
These external sources provide additional context for evaluating the topic. Their inclusion is not an endorsement.
Further reading and comparison sources
These external sources provide additional context for evaluating the topic. Their inclusion is not an endorsement.
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