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AI Principles

Our Commitment to Stay a Privacy-First Company

Healthy communities need good analytics about brick and mortar locations. For businesses and cities, location data tells an important story about our physical world and how we use our collective resources. It helps retailers and restaurants understand patterns in foot traffic, gives municipalities a way to measure economic development, and allows hospitality services to plan effectively for local events.

As individuals, location data also includes some of the most sensitive information about our lives. Without adequate protections, it can reveal personal information about who we are or restrict our freedoms if used for surveillance. This is why the use of location data by businesses and cities requires the utmost care and respect for individual privacy.

Equipped with extensive experience in data science, cybersecurity, and engineering, Placer.ai’s founders decided to create the world’s most accurate location analytics platform without compromising individual privacy. From the beginning, it’s been critical to our success that privacy is not only a core requirement for our technical solutions, but as the cornerstone of our business.

How do we do it (step-by-step)?

01
Device data is stripped of personal identifiers, such as device identifiers (“MAIDs”) by our partners before it’s shared with us.
02
After we receive the data, it’s aggregated around specific points of interest (i.e. a commercial business, a neighborhood, a park, etc.), using K-anonymity of 50 (from at least 50 devices) to preserve individual privacy.
03
Using our proprietary technology, the data is further extrapolated to provide broader predictions based on a representative sample set, much like a pollster might use a small sample size to generate insights about a much larger population.
04
Heatmaps and dots on our dashboard maps, whether representing a residential area or a part of a road, always represent an approximate and randomized location where according to the U.S. Census there are at least 50 residents. What you see with our maps never represents the actual location of any one particular device. Further, we don’t show any data for locations with fewer than 50 unique devices.

Our products and our company are built with privacy by design and the following guiding principles

We Only Provide Aggregated Market Research About Places

We only provide our customers with aggregated statistical information about physical locations, such that any bit of information presented preserves K-anonymity of 50. This means that every dot on the map, whether representing a residential area or the end of a road segment, is always only an approximate location and never indicates the actual location of any one particular device.

We Don’t Share or Sell User Data

We have never sold user-level data and we never will.

We Focus On Real-Estate Problems

Customers use Placer to make better decisions about physical locations and accordingly we only offer statistically extrapolated data about locations. Yet, in order to avoid misconceptions and mitigate any potential concerns, Placer has adopted a policy that restricts customers from generating foot traffic reports for certain locations. In line with this policy, we do not knowingly sell or share data about places such as military facilities, places of worship, preK-12 schools, rehabilitation centers, or women’s health facilities.

We Respect User Consent and Privacy Best Practices

We vet our data partners, complying with all laws, regulations, and industry standards. Placer requires its partners to get opt in or opt out consent in accordance with applicable law.

We Invest in Data Security

We use end-to-end encryption to protect data in transit and at rest, using a centralized key management system and rotating keys. We also employ the Information Security Management System (ISMS) from ISO 27001, which includes a risk management program based on the ISO 31000, “Risk Management Framework.” We also maintain a SOC 2 Type II certification. You can read more about our technical security investments.