VPAID is deprecated in VAST 4.1+
apiFramework="VPAID" is deprecated as of VAST 4.1
Short answer
If a VAST 4.1+ tag still uses apiFramework="VPAID", treat it as legacy. CTV and SSAI environments usually fail or ignore it. Replace it with SIMID plus a standard playback file.
VPAID was deprecated in VAST 4.1 in favour of SIMID / `<InteractiveCreativeFile>`. CTV environments never supported VPAID; using it there causes the ad to fail silently.
Why this matters in production
This rule is a strong risk signal. Tags with this issue often still parse, but they become brittle across SDKs, SSAI resolvers, and CTV environments. Deprecated features are a long-tail compatibility problem: they may appear to work in one legacy stack and fail silently in newer players, SSAI chains, or device ecosystems. Affected scope: VAST 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3.
How to fix
Replace the VPAID <MediaFile> with an <InteractiveCreativeFile apiFramework="SIMID"> for interactive functionality, and keep a standard MP4 <MediaFile> for playback.
Invalid
<MediaFiles>
<MediaFile delivery="progressive" type="application/javascript" apiFramework="VPAID" width="640" height="360">
<![CDATA[https://example.com/vpaid-unit.js]]>
</MediaFile>
</MediaFiles>Valid
<MediaFiles>
<MediaFile delivery="progressive" type="video/mp4" width="640" height="360">
<![CDATA[https://cdn.example.com/ad.mp4]]>
</MediaFile>
<InteractiveCreativeFile type="text/html" apiFramework="SIMID">
<![CDATA[https://cdn.example.com/interactive.html]]>
</InteractiveCreativeFile>
</MediaFiles>VAST-4.1-vpaid-apiframework and other issues instantly.Validate a tag →