Understanding Privacy
In this section you will find some definitions that will help you understand the concepts related to privacy and data protection in the context of the advertising industry.
Adsquare is a German company and therefore, our definitions are based on the laws that apply in Germany, specifically the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”).
As we offer our products and services in several countries, we also comply with the national laws about privacy that may be applicable to us.
1. Main Definitions
Privacy Policy
The Privacy Policy is a document that informs how Adsquare processes Personal Data, including what categories of Personal Data are collected and for which purposes, how the data is collected, for how long is the data processed and what are the rights of the data subjects.
Adsquare has a Website privacy policy, a platforms privacy policy and a cookie policy.
Privacy and Data Protection
Privacy refers to every person’s right to self-determine when and within what limits private information should be shared with others.
Your right to Data Protection provides you with tools to control your Personal Data and how companies process your data.
Privacy and Data Protection laws establish limits to how companies can use your Personal Data and how you can exercise your rights.
Applicable Data Protection Laws
Each country has its own laws defining how the rights to Privacy and Data Protection operate in their country.
The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) is a regulation that covers the European Economic Area and that covers the different areas related to the right to Data Protection that companies must apply when using your Personal Data. Because Adsquare headquarters are in Berlin, Adsquare applies GDPR.
Adsquare may also apply other laws that are applicable in places where Adsquare offers its products. For example, in the US, each State regulates how companies can use the PersonalInformation) of the consumers. For a complete list please check our US Supplement
What is Personal Data or Personal Information?
In the context of our Privacy Policies, we follow the definition of Personal Data provided by the GDPR. We may use the words Personal Data or Personal Information interchangeably.
Personal Data is any information that refers to a natural person (this means a human being) that can be identified or is identifiable using that information. Examples of Personal Data are your name, email, phone number, etc.
Sensitive Data
Adsquare does not process Personal Data that is classified as Sensitive Data in the GDPR. This includes:
- Data that reveals your racial or ethnic origin, immigration status or citizenship, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs
- Data that reveals if you are part of a trade union, professional or trade association
- Data concerning your health
- Data about your sex life or sexual orientation
- Data regarding your criminal convictions or records
- Genetic or biometric data to identify you
- Your identification issued by a governmental body (ID, driver’s licence, social security number, passport number, tax ID, etc)
- Account login information, financial accounts, debit card and credit card numbers in conjunction with security codes
- Content of mail and text messages
- Data concerning if you have been the victim of a crime
Personal Data of Minors
Adsquare does not knowingly process, share or sell Personal Data collected from children under the age of 18. Adsquare requires its data providers in all countries to provide data only from Consumers over 18 years of age.
Who is a Data Subject?
A Data Subject is the natural person that is identifiable and is subject to the Processing Activities of the Personal Data.
What is Processing?
In the context of Data Protection, Processing Activities refer to any operation that can be performed on Personal Data, for example, collection, recording, storage, use, disclosure, transfer, etc.
What is a Data Controller?
A Data Controller can be a natural person, a company (legal person) or a public authority that determines the purposes and the way Personal Data is processed.
What is a Data Processor?
A Data Processor is the natural person or company (legal person) that processes data on behalf of a Data Controller. The Data Processor can only process the Personal Data on the Data Controller’s request.
What is Privacy by Design?
Privacy should be built into new products and features from the very beginning, including appropriate technical and organisational measures in order to meet all GDPR requirements. To ensure this, Adsquare trains its different teams on privacy, so everyone is aware of the data protection principles that we apply when designing our products.
2. Technical Glossary
Other relevant terms to understand Personal Data and Data Processing in the context of marketing and advertising:
Term | Explanation |
---|---|
API | An Application Program Interface (“API”) is a set of routines, protocols and tools that allows platforms to communicate with each other. Typically, an API offers a service based on an input signal to clients. |
Audience Insights | Aggregated analysis of audience characteristics and behaviour of user groups to get a better understanding of clients, prospects or users that have previously interacted with advertising campaigns. |
Audience Segments | Audience segments are created by dividing a population of people into subgroups based on defined criteria such as demographics, preferences, interests, behaviour, media usage etc. It is the process of organising groups of users into meaningful and manageable segments that enable tailored communication messages. |
Cookie | A cookie is a small text file that is stored on your computer or mobile device when accessing websites. Cookies allow a website to recognise a user's browser and to remember preferences and interests. |
Cross-Device Targeting | Cross-Device Targeting includes different ways to reach users across their smartphone, tablet, desktop computer or other electronic devices. It enables storytelling and a limitation of exposures also known as frequency capping. |
Data Exchange Platform | A platform that acts as a neutral marketplace and connects users of data (e.g. advertisers) and owners of data (e.g. publishers). Data exchanges usually consolidate data in any format from different sources. |
Footfall Analysis | Analysis of the effectiveness of location-based advertising to derive whether certain advertising campaigns lead to higher footfall for specific retail locations. |
Interest-Based Advertising | Interest-Based Advertising includes the collection of data across multiple digital sources to create Audience Segments and delivering advertising based on preferences or interests known or inferred from the data collected and the collection of data about a user’s activity on one digital source for the purpose of creating Audience Segments and delivering advertising based on that data on a different digital property. |
IP Address | The IP Address is based upon the Internet Protocol system that is used for several computers to communicate via the internet and identifies a computer or network. In combination with specific databases, an IP Address can be used to locate a user’s device or its access point. |
Location Data | Any information about the location of a smartphone or other device, indicating the geographical position of a user, including data relating to the latitude, longitude or latitude of the device, the direction of travel of the user and time the location data was recorded. |
Location Insights Reports | Analysis of audience characteristics and behaviour of user groups that visit certain locations such as retailers. These aggregated statistics could be used for retail analyses, analysing audience characteristics throughout the day and week etc. to offer more personalised services. |
Mobile Advertising ID | A Mobile Advertising ID (“MAID”) is a user-specific, unique, resettable identifier for advertising. Through the identifier provided by the mobile device’s operating system, MAIDs help developers identify users that use their app. Some of the formats of mobile advertising identifiers include Google’s Android Advertising Identifier (“AAID”) and Apple’s Identifier for Advertising (“IDFA”). |
Online Behavioural Advertising | Online Behavioural Advertising (“OBA”) is a form of personalised and targeted advertising based on the collection and use of user data such as web browsing activity, pages visited, ads clicked, and products purchased or shown an interest in etc. OBA also includes retargeting whereby a product viewed on a retail website is subsequently advertised on other websites visited by the same browser. |