First, second and third-hand data

First-party data:

First-party data is information that you collect on your own channels. It is data from your customers and leads. Some advantages of first-party data are that the data quality is considered high, it is free and it is owned by you.

It can be data from for example:

• Website

• Customer feedback

• CRM system

• First party cookie

• App

Secondary data:

Second-party data is someone else's first-party data that you pay for. It involves creating a partnership with a company that has data that is interesting to you.

Unlike first-party data, the quality of this data can vary, you pay for it and it is owned by someone else.

Case of when second-hand data could be used:

Imagine you own a moving company. Here, data from a brokerage firm would be of interest to you. You would then be able to get information about when a potential customer is moving and where they are moving to. With this information, you could contact them with a relevant message at the right time.

Third party data:

Third-party data is data that you buy from a company that does not own the data itself. It is data from multiple sources that is collected and then resold.

Like second-hand data, this data is not free and is not data that you own. When it comes to data quality, it is variable and a bit of a question mark.

The difference between second- and third-party data is that second-party data is owned by the person you buy it from, while third-party data is bought by a company that doesn't own the data, but has in turn bought someone else's first-party data.

The difference between third-party cookies and third-party data:

A common mistake is to confuse third-party cookies with third-party data. Here is a brief overall explanation of what makes them different:

A third-party cookie is a cookie that is placed on a website but is owned and managed by a third party, in order to collect information about your behavior to target ads.

Third-party data, on the other hand, is data that you buy from a company that does not own the data itself.

If you want to read more about first-party cookies and third-party cookies, you can do so here.

Summary:

• First-party data is the data you collect and own yourself.

• Second-party data is the data someone else collects and owns that you then buy.

• Third-party data is first-party data that someone who doesn't own it collects and then resells.

• Third-party data and third-party cookies are not the same thing.