Head of Product and Market Technique
Alex joined Department as a Developer Advocate in 2016, and helped construct the corporate’s early developer relations and long-tail adoption methods. He works intently with groups throughout the group to assist form Department’s place within the cellular ecosystem, writes the Cell Development E-newsletter, and tweets often about mobile-related subjects at @alexdbauer.
Sep 14, 2022
Not too long ago, one in all our fellow cellular measurement companions (MMPs) has been within the information for a unpleasant cause: on August 29, the FTC sued Kochava for promoting delicate shopper information.
Extra particularly, the FTC alleges that Kochava has been promoting geolocation information that “can be utilized to establish folks and hint their actions.”
At Department, we usually attempt to keep away from commenting on conditions like these. Nevertheless, the headlines for this story are alarming sufficient that quite a lot of our clients have reached out to us with questions. They need to know what this information means for Department, and what it would imply for them.
In different phrases, clients are asking if the information of their very own customers may additionally be on the market.
This reply may be very easy, so I need to make certain it’s utterly and impeccably clear: Department doesn’t promote our clients’ consumer information. We by no means have, and we by no means will. This has been one in all our core ideas going again to the start of the corporate.
However how did this case occur?
I might finish this weblog publish proper right here. However I do know at the least just a few readers will need to perceive why we’re having this dialog within the first place. The advert tech ecosystem is complicated, and we don’t at all times do a superb job of explaining issues in a method that is smart for folks exterior the circle.
In Kochava’s case, the FTC lawsuit stems from a special line of enterprise generally known as the Kochava Collective. That is utterly separate from Kochava’s MMP (which offers advert attribution), and doesn’t embrace any information collected by their MMP product (for a full clarification, right here is the open letter from Kochava’s CEO).
Why does this matter? Retaining buyer information personal and confidential is inherent to an MMP’s existence. In reality, this can be a elementary tenet of what it means to be a cellular measurement associate: we exist to function your trusted unbiased arbiter, appearing in your behalf to supply correct and unbiased advert measurement. And simply to keep away from any confusion, there isn’t a legitimate cause why an MMP would want entry to a consumer’s exact location coordinates (you’ll be able to’t ship this type of geolocation information to Department even should you wished to — we are able to’t use it, and we don’t need it).
Sadly, the excellence between Kochava’s MMP providing and the Kochava Collective is nearly universally getting misplaced within the noise.
As a model, what must you be fascinated about for the long run?
Tales like this one usually are not precisely new for the adtech {industry}, however the significance of consumer privateness has solely grown over the previous two years. This implies it would develop into much more vital for manufacturers to rigorously contemplate the distributors they associate with, and to grasp not solely the chance of the merchandise they’re utilizing, but in addition any reputational dangers regarding the distributors that they choose.
Sure, any respectable MMP will maintain your consumer information personal and confidential. That’s true by definition at this time, and is unlikely to alter in future. However on this new world, the place privateness has develop into an insanely complicated, three physique downside and information tales about consumer privateness and information safety can unfold like wildfire, corporations have to take a look at a good greater image: are there different areas of reputational publicity regarding this vendor that would harm my model?
On the finish of the day, you can not succeed within the digital world with out working with companions, so it’s vital to ensure you’re maintaining good firm. At Department, our dedication is to be an industry-leading MMP and a associate that you could be proud to work with.
Head of Product and Market Technique
Alex joined Department as a Developer Advocate in 2016, and helped construct the corporate’s early developer relations and long-tail adoption methods. He works intently with groups throughout the group to assist form Department’s place within the cellular ecosystem, writes the Cell Development E-newsletter, and tweets often about mobile-related subjects at @alexdbauer.
Sep 14, 2022
