At Placer, we’re committed to building the world’s most accurate location analytics platform without compromising individual privacy. From the beginning, it has been critical to our success that privacy is not only a core requirement for our technical solutions, but a cornerstone of our business and product architecture.  

Placer works hard to comply with all national and state-specific privacy regulations and is continuously monitoring changes to ensure we stay ahead of the evolving privacy landscape.

Browse the FAQ below to learn more about how we protect the privacy of individuals.

What kind of data does Placer collect from consumers’ mobile devices?

Placer doesn’t collect location data directly from consumers, but receives data from our mobile application partners who are collecting location data from millions of mobile devices. The collected data includes - foot traffic information and auxiliary supporting data such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi beacons, battery, and network.

What techniques does Placer use to protect individual privacy?

Placer does not collect user identifiers and does not sell or share users’ data. Placer is an analytics company – not a data broker.

Placer invests heavily in building privacy mechanisms, including a differential privacy service (DPS) to remove individual identifiers from the data we receive from our providers, already on our providers' premises, even before it enters our systems.

Placer’s customers are only given aggregated statistical information about physical locations, and never any data tied to specific individuals or devices. We also use end-to-end encryption to protect data in transit and at rest, using a centralized key management system and rotating keys.

Additionally, individual dots, heatmaps, and journey origins on our dashboard are obfuscated such that any bit of information presented preserves K-anonymity of 50, meaning that every dot on the map is only an approximate location and does not indicate the actual location of any individual or device.

How does Placer ensure its providers comply with privacy laws and regulations?

Placer’s data is only sourced from leading mobile application providers that require affirmative opt-in or opt-out consent, as required by law, and disclose to consumers how location data will be used. In all agreements, Placer’s providers represent they are in compliance with all applicable privacy laws and regulations. In addition, Placer uses a three-stage process to carefully vet providers and ensure they meet appropriate data and privacy standards.

Importantly, the data we receive from our providers is already stripped of identifiers, including Mobile Ad IDs (MAIDs) and personally identifiable information (PII) using Placer’s Differential Privacy Service (DPS). The data does not include any personal identifying fields, and it does not contain any information that can be used to identify or distinguish an individual or device. This ensures that our providers cannot share any PII with us –– even accidentally!

Do you work with data from minors?

No. We prohibit our providers from sharing data with us that is associated with individuals known to be under 18 years of age.

How does Placer ensure its employees are not exposed to information about individual devices?

Placer does not collect user identifiers and does not sell or share users’ data. Placer is an analytics company – not a data broker.

Placer’s data is protected with end-to-end encryption in transit and at rest, using a centralized key management system with rotating keys. Employee access is restricted based on job responsibilities, such as compliance monitoring and customer support. This access is logged and audited.

How does Placer ensure that customers are not exposed to individual information?

Placer customers can only access information about physical locations and display visitation data at an aggregated and estimated level. Placer does not surface any data tied to individual mobile devices.

What are sensitive locations and how does Placer treat them?

Placer does not sell or share any visitor data relating to sensitive locations.

Sensitive locations include places such as military facilities, schools or facilities for minors, places of worship, rehabilitation centers, women’s health facilities, and any locations limited by a particular state’s applicable laws. To learn more, visit Sensitive Locations Handling.

For more information see Privacy FAQ