Data Safety Index

Many marketers today consider trackers on websites or apps an indispensable tool to deliver relevant content and advertising.

However, the widespread use of trackers has made it increasingly challenging for brands to understand and manage the way that data flows from their digital platforms to other parts of the online advertising ecosystem.

With this comes risk. New and emerging privacy regulation in more than 120 countries around the world puts limits on data sharing with third parties and requires brands to be accountable for the way their consumers’ data is shared with other companies and beyond.

This tool aims to help WFA members navigate this challenge by enabling them to visualise the amount of risk they are currently exposed to through trackers and cookies on their digital platforms, and see how this compares to other companies at a sectoral and regional level.

Based on an analysis of more than 1000 URLs, Global Data Bank has built an interactive visual representation of the amount of risk advertisers (on average) are exposed to by sector and by geography. The Data Safety Index™ methodology used for this analysis looked at a range of different factors, including:

• The number of data suppliers placing cookies on the brand’s website;
• The number of data vendors/re-sellers that are present amongst the pool of data suppliers;
• The number of levels of data sharing;
• The presence of a consent management platform;
• The type of consent management platform being used.