CitizenMe Launches Personal Data Exchange Platform

London-based personal data firm CitizenMe has launched a data exchange platform to enable brands to connect with real humans in real-time.

CitizenMe helps consumers connect their digital information - for instance, from social media networks, mobile apps, and health data - and receive personalized insights about themselves using the firm's machine learning technology. Consumers can then exchange these insights and their data with brands. The firm's new 'CitizenMe Exchange' platform can be used by businesses to request app usage and social media data - such as Facebook likes - and integrate this data alongside survey questions. All participant's data is stored on their smartphone and backed up via encryption to a personal cloud. Every time a business requests data, the citizen consents to releasing it anonymously from their smartphone, turning them into their own data controller and making the platform fully GDPR compliant.

In addition, the service allows companies to cross-validate data such as location and identity across multiple data sources, with user verified with anonymized banking level guarantees, to prevent fraud and fake identities. Ryan Garner (pictured), Innovation Director, comments: 'There is a big problem in the industry where data is bought, sold and mashed together without the consent of the citizen. This is not only unethical but also produces extremely unreliable data, is costly and takes a considerable amount of time. Market research is the source data for the whole marketing and advertising industry and it is perfectly positioned to take centre stage and create new innovative ways to better understand the customer in an ethical and reliable way.'

Web site: www.citizenme.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.