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FAQs - About OnSpot
FAQs - About OnSpot

About OnSpot

Bill Joscelyn avatar
Written by Bill Joscelyn
Updated over a week ago

What differentiates OnSpot from its competitors?

Our patented technology and platform delivers customized consumer insights and targeted advertising audiences using location analytics, demographics, digital visitor data, and more. Our audiences outperform based on:

  • Breadth and Depth of Data – The platform reviews tens of billions of MAIDs observations each day. We record in our database each observation using latitude/longitude and date/time stamp. In one month, we receive and process billions of location observations for millions of unique Devices each day.

  • Clean Data – OnSpot continually monitors the quality and quantity of data provided by our sources and performs rigorous data cleansing to ensure that we offer access to the breadth and depth of location data required to deliver meaningful results from our platform

  • Lookback – OnSpot’s active platform provides a 12-month lookback, and the ability to request custom analytics with lookbacks up to 4 years

  • Analytics based on REAL data – OnSpot only uses actual observed and collected data for audiences and reporting. OnSpot does not extrapolate or pad audiences, foot traffic, or demographics with projections, extrapolations, or models from small-sample panels of real data like other companies with insufficient data breadth.

  • Audience insight – OnSpot delivers analytics based on household level demographic, financial, and interest data associated with device identifiers, not just zip-code based data.

  • User Control – OnSpot’s platform gives the user control in selecting the locations, date ranges, and precision for generating location-based audiences and reports to deliver the relevance and recency required by the user.

  • Audience Extension – OnSpot’s platform can provide one-click audience extensions that include other household members, real-life social connections (friends, co-workers, and non-household family members), and lookalikes based on demographics and behavior.

What types of data does the OnSpot platform use?

OnSpot aggregates data from two primary sources. The first are commercial data vendors that aggregate location data from SDKs installed in thousands of mobile applications. The second source is mobile ad network and exchange data. A mobile device observation with a location (latitude/longitude) date, and timestamp requires a user to be actively using an application on their mobile device or browsing the web on a website delivers advertising with location services enabled.

How does OnSpot verify the accuracy of the device’s location?

OnSpot uses a variety of proprietary techniques for cleansing the location observation data, including identifying fraudulent locations and unreliable publishers. OnSpot discards 35-40% of the observation data that it receives which does not meet our quality criteria, delivering a superior data set to our users. We will only load observations with 0.11 meter accuracy or better.

How close to real-time can users get location data tied to a device ID?

OnSpot’s data is organized and stored so that it is only possible to return MAIDs at a given location – there is no capability for OnSpot or its users to trace the history of an individual MAID. Observation data is accessible through the UI for analytics/reporting within 72 hours of an observation, and is accessible through the API within 24-48 hours of the observation.

What is the frequency of location data refresh?

Daily.

What is the average number of times a mobile device location is observed?

There is no average. Mobile device locations are observed at various times during the day or night. There are no schedules. Here are some considerations:

  • What apps are installed on the device?

  • What apps are currently being used / are open?

  • Is the user of the device currently browsing the web?

  • What SDKs are collecting and sending data?

  • What is the available cell signal strength?

Can users export the Mobile IDs for an audience?

To comply with PII rules and certain state laws, all user-facing mobile devices are encrypted using military grade hashing. Any reports or exports users can create contain hashed IDs only and can be used for data analysis, but not for any other use, or for publishing. Mobile Device IDs sent to DSPs use secure methods that conform to the format that the specific DSP requests, i.e. unhashed, SHA-1, SHA-256, etc).

Is OnSpot compliant with the latest privacy regulations?

OnSpot has contractual obligations with all of our data suppliers to comply with all state and federal privacy laws such as CCPA as well as voluntary industry programs such as IAB/NAI privacy initiatives. Explicit opt-in is collected where required.

Regarding SDK Data: While OnSpot does not have its own SDK, we support user opt-out from data collection and use in our platform through our website in addition to providing notification to our suppliers. All of our data suppliers are required to support opt-out at a minimum to comply with applicable laws and industry standards.

Does OnSpot provide First Party data for DSPs/Publishing?

First party data is loosely defined as information you yourself have collected about your audience. With that in mind, OnSpot provides the tools for you to create your audience with any first party data you have available (CRM, web visitors, etc.) in combination with the audiences you build using data in the platform. Audiences you create in the OnSpot platform are therefore, first party audiences.

Does OnSpot provide data for Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean?

Currently, OnSpot provides services covering the 50 United States only (this does not include any US possessions or territories).

Does OnSpot offer a custom branded user platform?

Yes, your company can qualify for what we call a "white label" version of our user platform with your company’s logo, which would also appear on associated reporting and email alerts. Contact your support representative for more details.

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