Enhanced Match
Enhanced Match is a pixel feature that sends hashed first-party identifiers - email, phone number - from the browser alongside every pixel event, so the ad platform can tie more events to real user profiles. TikTok calls it Enhanced Match; Meta's counterpart is Advanced Matching. Without it, a browser event carries only what the browser offers by default - a cookie and the click ID - and every visitor who blocks or loses cookies stays anonymous to the platform.
What it adds beyond the cookie
The identifiers are hashed in the browser before they leave - the same SHA-256 discipline server-side payloads follow, with normalization applied before hashing. A visitor who logs in or enters their email at checkout becomes identifiable across sessions and devices, and the browser event gains the same matching material the server event already had. The effect shows up in the platform's matching metric - match rate - and in the share of events that qualify for attribution.
Where each platform puts it
| Platform | Name | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok | Enhanced Match / Advanced Matching | A pixel-level feature: hashed email and phone travel with web pixel events |
| Meta | Advanced Matching | Customer information parameters (em, ph, and the rest) can be sent through the Meta Pixel as well as server-side in user_data |
| Server events | user_data fields | Both platforms accept hashed identifiers directly in server payloads, no pixel feature needed |
Server-side delivery does not depend on the pixel feature at all: the match keys in a Conversions API payload carry the same hashed identifiers explicitly. The pixel feature matters for the browser side - the events that would otherwise carry no identity beyond the cookie. The setup steps for TikTok's variant are in the Enhanced Match setup guide, and the hashing rules both platforms expect in CAPI user data hashing and normalization.