Plain-language definitions for data-buying terms: MAID, HEM, POI, ACR, match rate, clean rooms, sensitive locations, alternative data, and pilots.
Buyer terminology
Plain-language definitions for procurement, legal, and data science teams licensing commercial data feeds.
MAID (Mobile Advertising ID)
A device-level identifier used in mobile advertising. Buyers use MAIDs to onboard audiences, measure exposure, and join CTV or mobility outcomes when contract terms allow. Related: MAID feed.
HEM (Hashed Email)
A one-way hashed representation of an email address, commonly SHA-256. HEMs are a primary join key between CRM files and identity graphs. Related: Identity graph.
POI (Point of Interest)
A real-world place with geographic footprint, category, and business metadata. Polygon-primary POI is the standard for accurate geofencing and foot-traffic measurement. Related: POI data.
ACR (Automatic Content Recognition)
Technology that detects what content aired on a smart TV. ACR logs power CTV reach, frequency, and exposure-to-outcome measurement when joined to identity or outcomes. Related: CTV / ACR hub.
Match rate
The share of records in your seed file that join to a vendor feed on agreed keys. Match rate should be measured on your own data, segmented by geography and cohort. Related: Pilot process.
Refresh cadence
How often a feed is updated (daily, weekly, monthly). Procurement should align refresh SLAs to activation and measurement windows so decay does not dominate results.
Device graph decay
The rate at which identity linkages go stale as devices churn or emails change. last_seen fields and change-delta files help filter stale edges in warehouse merges. Related: Device graph decay resource.
Clean room
A governed environment where parties join datasets without exposing raw identifiers. Used for pre-license match tests and post-activation measurement with aggregation floors. Related: Clean room measurement.
Permitted use
Contract-defined allowed purposes for a dataset (activation, measurement, research, risk). Exceeding permitted use is a compliance failure independent of technical access. Related: Sourcing methodology.
Sensitive location category
Places such as healthcare facilities, schools, or places of worship that many mobility programs exclude. Buyers should confirm exclusion lists in delivery manifests. Related: Privacy & compliance hub.
Data broker (U.S. state law)
A business that collects and sells personal information about consumers with whom it has no direct relationship. Several states require registration and public disclosures. Related: Broker registrations.
CCPA / CPRA
California privacy laws granting consumers rights to know, delete, and opt out of sale/sharing. Enterprise licenses should define how opt-outs propagate through production feeds. Related: Privacy policy.
Alternative data
Non-traditional datasets used in finance and strategy, such as clickstream, mobility, or CPG panels mapped to tickers or brands. Leakage controls and latency matter for trading use cases. Related: Alternative data hub.
Snowflake secure share
A Snowflake delivery pattern where GSDSI shares a dataset into the buyer account without copying files manually. Common for enterprise warehouse-first buyers. Related: Developers.
Matched-sample pilot
A scoped evaluation where the vendor delivers a sample joined to the buyer seed so match rate, freshness, and schema can be validated before production licensing. Related: Pilot process.