Ad Platform Privacy Policy
Effective Date: March 28, 2023
This privacy policy explains how xAd, Inc. dba GroundTruth (“we,” “us,” “our”) and our affiliates and subsidiaries collect, use, and share information via our mobile advertising service and mobile advertising landing pages (“Services”).
Overview of GroundTruth’s Services
GroundTruth is an advertising platform specializing in location powered ads. Our Services combine data, technology, and strategy to help advertisers reach the audiences most likely to be interested in their products or services.
If you visit a website, use a mobile application, or interact with an Internet-connected device of one of our platform members, that property will have its own privacy policy and practices. You will need to refer to the member’s privacy policy for information about their data collection and use practices.
GroundTruth adheres to the Digital Advertising Alliance’s (“DAA”) self-regulatory principles and the Digital Advertising Alliance Canada’s (“DAAC”) self-regulatory principles.
Data Collection & Use
We may collect various types of information from connected devices and web browsers using scripts, cookies, web beacons, software development kits (“SDK”), or other similar techniques. These technologies are used to collect digital actions of users that visit and use websites, applications, and connected devices or interact with ads presented on websites and devices of our platform members. We also receive other data (e.g., demographic information and digital identifiers) from third parties or through analytical techniques that we combine with the data we collect or derive through the Services.
The categories of data we collect or receive may include:
- Digital identifiers, such as device identifiers and IP addresses;
- Information about the browser and operating system type and version, device type, and other data from or about a device;
- Purchase history and transactional data such as records of products or services purchased, obtained, or considered
- Precise geolocation data;
- Postal addresses; and
- Information about users’ web viewing, application usage, and device usage information including what advertisements are interacted with.
We may collect or receive this data from a variety of sources, including over time across different mobile apps, websites, browsers, or Internet-connected devices. We may also receive data related to the location of a device from our platform members and other parties, such as consumer data resellers. We may also receive physical address information from our customers or other third parties, or we may derive address information from other location information we receive or collect from devices.
We may use any of the data we collect and receive for a variety of business purposes including analytics; auditing; research; reporting; attribution; detecting security incidents and illegal, deceptive, or fraudulent activity; service enhancements and other business operations; predicting possible relationships among different browsers and devices; differentiating and/or associating multiple device users as well as associating devices or users with locations such as a household or workplace; frequency capping and other auditing purposes; and in multiple ways to make ads more relevant across various connected devices, browsers, through direct mail, and any other advertising channel, such as by inferring potential interests based on web viewing, application use, location, and device usage activity for advertising purposes.
For instance, we may use location data for proximity or audience advertising. Proximity advertising uses location and other data to present ads based on a device’s current location. Another example would be using location and other data to create “audiences” – groups of Internet-connected devices that are inferred to share similar interests or other characteristics based on the information we collect – to deliver ads that we believe may be more relevant to those audiences through various advertising channels. We consider both proximity and audience advertising to be interest-based advertising as described in this policy. We retain data used for interest-based advertising only as long as we have a legitimate business purpose to retain such data, or as otherwise required by applicable law.
Choice
We use data collected across different devices and from non-affiliated websites, applications, and devices over time as well as other data described in this policy to provide advertising on behalf of our clients that is relevant to a device’s location and/or interests inferred from this data. This form of advertising is known as interest-based advertising. We may also partner with other ad companies to extend our audiences across different browsers, devices, and various other advertising channels for interest-based advertising purposes.
Mobile Device Choice: You may download the DAA’s AppChoices mobile app, or the TRUSTe mobile app, on your iOS or Android device in order to exercise choice regarding the collection of mobile application use activity for interest-based advertising on this device by us and other companies that participate in those choice tools. Links to those applications are below:
Location Data Choice: The DAA’s AppChoices tool can also be used to exercise choice regarding the collection and use of precise location data by GroundTruth for interest-based advertising purposes. iOS and Android users can limit our collection of precise location data from a device by turning location services off through the settings on that device.
Web Browser Choice: If you would like to exercise choice regarding our, and for other third parties that participate in the DAA Choice Page, collection of web viewing data from web browsers for interest-based advertising purposes on this device, click here.
When you make your choices on your browser or device using these choice tools, we will stop collecting and using data from that browser or device for interest-based advertising on it. We will also stop using data collected from that browser or device on other browsers or devices associated with it, and will stop using data collected from those associated browsers, devices, or elsewhere for interest-based advertising on the opted-out browser or device. We will also stop collecting and using data from that browser or device to inform relevant advertising that is sent to you via direct mail.
Note that electing to opt out from GroundTruth services will not stop advertising from appearing on your browser or device. It may make the ads you see less relevant to your interests. In addition, note that if you use a different browser or device, erase cookies from your browser, or reset your platform ad identifier, you may need to renew your opt-out choice. In addition, we may still collect data from browsers or devices for non-interest based advertising purposes such as for analytics and reporting purposes, operations, improving our services and frequency capping.
Data Sharing
We may share the various types of information we collect and infer about devices and users with our affiliates, third party partners and agents for advertisement targeting, audience extension across different browsers, devices and various other advertising channels, to make and create offers, for other marketing and advertising purposes, to provide reporting to advertisers and clients, to improve our systems and products, and for other research and analytical purposes.
We may also share data with contractors and service providers who work on our behalf. We may disclose data in response to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process, or to establish or exercise our legal rights and obligations or defend against legal claims. We may also transfer data in the event of an acquisition or merger with another company, including at bankruptcy.
Children
Our services are not intended for children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13.
Website Privacy Policy
Voluntarily Submitted Information on our Websites
This privacy policy applies to our corporate websites and explains how xAd, Inc. dba GroundTruth (“we,” “us,” “our”) and our affiliates and subsidiaries collect, use, and share information on www.groundtruth.com, or other websites we control that link to this policy (collectively “Website”). By using the Website you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
Information Collection & Use:
Personal Information
When you use the Website, you may encounter areas that allow you to voluntarily enter personal information, which includes contact information such as your name, email address, telephone number, and mailing address.
You may provide this information to us when you sign up for our newsletter, request information about products, apply for a job, fill out surveys, or otherwise provide personal information to us.
We may use personal information for, among other things:
- Internal record keeping and auditing;
- Communicating with you about site updates and your inquiries, as well as offer products, content, and services that we believe may be of interest to you;
- Customizing the Website;
- Verifying customer information; and
- For purposes disclosed at the time of collection.
If you would prefer not to receive communications from us in the future, please follow the unsubscribe instructions available in each communication.
We may retain your information for as long as necessary to fulfill a legitimate business need, such as to provide you with information or services, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.
Usage Information
When you browse our Website we may also collect various types of usage information about your browser or device, including, but not limited to, online identifiers such as your IP address and your mobile device identifier, as well as information about your internet activity such as the web pages visited, links clicked, and your operating system and browser type. We and our partners may automatically record real-time session information generated in the course of your interactions with the Website, such as mouse movements, clicks, page visits, text entered, how long you spent on a page, and other details of your actions on the Website. Such information is used for the purpose of operating, debugging, and improving our Website, analyzing demographic and statistical research about website usage, customizing offers, and to monitor the Website for compliance with our terms of service and the law, to detect security incidents and malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, as well as other purposes. This usage information may be collected through various technologies, including but not limited to “cookies” when you visit the Website. For more information, please see the “Tracking Technologies” section below.
Information Sharing
We will not sell, rent, license, trade or disclose your contact information collected through our Websites to an unaffiliated third party, except with your permission or for circumstances described in this policy. We may share or disclose personal and usage information in certain circumstances, including sharing with:
- Service providers that perform a business function for us for purposes like CRM management and infrastructure support;
- Our subsidiaries and affiliates;
- Entities, such as government agencies, as required by a court order, subpoena, warrant, or when otherwise required by law;
- Entities as part of a sale or merger of all or part of our business, including at bankruptcy;
- Third parties for our direct marketing purposes; and
- Entities to protect our rights and the rights of third parties.
The Website may contain links to third party websites that we do not control, and to which this privacy policy does not apply. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.
Security
We follow generally accepted standards to help protect the personal information submitted to us, both during transmission and once it is received.
Update Personal Information
If you wish to access, update or request deletion of the personal information you have previously provided to us through this website, such as your email or phone number, you may do so by writing us at requests@groundtruth.com stating that request. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe.
Tracking Technologies
GroundTruth and our partners use cookies, session replay, or similar technologies to analyze trends, administer the Websites, collect information about use of the Websites, and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. Users can control the use of cookies at the individual browser level, but if you choose to disable cookies, it may limit your use of certain features or functions on our Website or service. To manage Flash cookies, please click here.
We use Google Analytics to better understand how visitors interact with our Websites. This service provides usage information including but not limited to data on where visitors came from, what actions they took on our Websites, and where visitors went when they left our Websites. We use this information to improve your experience when visiting our Websites. Please click here to learn more about this service and how to opt out of data collection by Google Analytics.
Digital Advertising
We may partner with ad networks and other ad serving providers (“Advertising Providers”) who serve ads on behalf of us and others on non-affiliated sites. Some of those ads may be personalized, meaning that they are intended to be relevant to you based on information Advertising Providers collect about your visits to this site and elsewhere on the Internet over time, as well as from various mobile applications you use, across different devices.
You may visit www.aboutads.info to learn more about this type of advertising and how to opt-out of this type of advertising by companies participating in the Digital Advertising Alliance self-regulatory program. Additionally, if you would like to opt-out of this type of advertising in mobile apps, you can visit here and download the opt-out app for your device.
GroundTruth adheres to the Digital Advertising Alliance’s Self-Regulatory Principles. Note that electing to opt out will not stop advertising from appearing in your browser or applications. It may make the ads you see less relevant to your interests. In addition, note that if you use a different browser or erase cookies from your browser, you may need to renew your opt-out choice. You can also opt out of browser-based interest-based advertising by us and other companies that offer choice by clicking here, or if located in the European Union you can click here to make choices with respect to companies integrated in the YourOnlineChoices consumer choice platform.
Children
This Website is not intended for the use of children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13.