zero-party data

Definition

Information that customers intentionally and proactively share with a brand, such as preferences, purchase intentions, or personal context. It's the data people actually give you, as opposed to the data you creepily collect.

Example Usage

We're pivoting to zero-party data collection through preference centers and quizzes, which sounds noble until you realize we're just asking people to volunteer what we used to track with cookies.

Origin

Coined by Forrester Research in 2018 as privacy regulations made first-party data collection more challenging

Fun Fact

Zero-party data is considered more valuable than third-party data because it's explicit, intentional, and comes with implicit consent—plus people lie less when they know you're listening.

Source: Data privacy and customer data platform terminology

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