The software developer Avast offers one of the most popular antivirus programs. Recently it has come to light; that for years Avast has tracked the browser data of its users and sold them via its subsidiary Jumpshot to different companies. According to researchers at Vice and PCMag, Avast and Jumpshot violated data protection laws by doing so – users had not given their consent. Multinationals, as well as medium-sized companies used this data to optimize their products and services and to address users directly. How do users behave online? Where do they get their information? Which websites do they visit and where do they shop online? The data which had been recorded and sold provided answers to these questions.

However, there is a solution compliant with data privacy to record these types of data and to make it accessible to companies. At respondi, we track internet users, but with one key difference; permission has been given explicitly by the users and the data is not used for advertising purposes. Besides the complete customer journey, which is recorded across all devices, the information obtained can be combined additionally with sociodemographic and psychographic characteristics or personal attitudes. That’s how we can draw a holistic picture of the user and his or her behaviour. Of course, this is all done while being compliant to international data protection regulations and via ISO-certified processes.

For more information on our method, please take a look at our Panelbook Behavioural Data.