FAQs - Veraset

How is the data sourced?

Veraset sources data from direct relationships with third-party applications and software development kits (SDKs) as well as data aggregators in conjunction with relevant data privacy laws.

How do they ensure the privacy of their data?

Privacy is a top priority at Veraset. The company employs a range of measures to protect the privacy of the individuals represented in its data. This includes pseudonymizing and aggregating data to ensure that no personally identifiable information (PII) is included. Veraset also complies with all relevant data protection laws and regulations, and it has robust security measures in place to prevent unauthorized access to its data.

How is a visit calculated in the Visits and Home/Work Visits datasets?

The Visits dataset has used two separate calculations to attribute a visit:

• 2019 - June 1, 2024: A visit was counted when a device was pinged twice between 4 minutes.
• June 1, 2024 - Present: A visit is counted when a single ping is registered.

The current calculation also measures the speed of the device when it is pinged to remove noise (car traffic, bike riders, scooters, etc.).

Does the Visits file include Home and Work visits, since there are also separate datasets?

The home and work visits are included in the master Visits dataset from 2019-2022. In 2023, the home and work visits were moved to separate products due to shifting privacy laws.

If the location for a visit is a designated home location, the Location_namewill = "home" (from 2019-2022).

Why is there a significant change in visits starting ~2022

Privacy requirements have changed significantly from 2019-2022, and the impact of those changes is reflected in the data. Specifically, iOS and Android devices implemented "opt-in" requirements and prompts for tracking through mobile apps.

What is a GEOHASH-5 and why do the Home/Work and Home/Work Visits datasets use that as the lowest level of resolution?

The GEOHASH-5 is 5 characters long, and represents a relatively small geographical area on Earth, providing a moderate level of precision in location identification compared to shorter geohashes, but still encompassing a larger area than a very precise, longer geohash; essentially, it signifies a "medium zoom" level on a map when using geohashing to pinpoint a location.

The dimension for the GEOHASH-5 are 4.89km x 4.89km and is used in these datasets to protect the privacy of the individuals in the panel.

Does Veraset use a POI provider?

Yes, Veraset uses SafeGraph as their POI data provider. As a result, NAICS, Placekey, and SafeGraph ID will all be in the datasets (Home and Work datasets will not have them for privacy reasons).

What year census does Veraset use in their data?

Veraset uses the 2010-2020 census data.

How does Veraset determine a "Home" and "Work" location?

They use a multi-week look-back period of 8 weeks, analyzing day-over-day and week-over-week observations. Home is determined where a device spends a majority of time during typical home hours (7 PM - 5 AM) and work is determined where a device spends a majority of time during typical working hours (7 AM - 6 PM).

Does Veraset do any normalization to their data?

Veraset does not do any normalization with their data. While there are many options for normalizing datasets, one approach is to use census data and create a population ratio to tie devices to # of people.