Ookla Privacy Policy

TRUSTe Verified Privacy TRUSTe APEC Privacy

Effective July 2023

Ookla, LLC, with its parent company Ziff Davis, LLC, its other affiliates and its subsidiaries (“Ookla”) provides end-to-end enterprise solutions that help transform wireless and fixed network measurement into actionable insights across a network’s lifecycle, delivering a world-class network experience. Ookla values your privacy and is committed to protecting the privacy of your information.

This Privacy Policy (or “policy”) describes how Ookla uses the personal information you provide and the rights you have. We have created this Privacy Portal to help you exercise your rights.


  1. Privacy Policy Overview
  2. Information We Collect, Receive and Create About You
  3. Data Processing and Retention
  4. Sensitive Personal Information
  5. Direct Marketing
  6. Behavioral Advertising
  7. Cookies
  8. Information We Share With Third Parties
  9. International Transfers of Information
  10. Data Security and Breach Handling
  11. Data Retention
  12. Your Rights with Respect to Your Personal Information
  13. How to Change Your Preferences
  14. Contact Details
  15. Children
  16. California Consumer Rights Metrics
  17. How this Privacy Policy May Change

  1. Privacy Policy Overview

    Ookla owns and operates several interactive websites, mobile and connected applications, including their and other online interactive features and services (collectively “services” or “our services”).

    This policy covers information collected through the following websites and applications:

    • Ookla
    • Speedtest.net
    • Speedtest Custom
    • Speedtest applications
    • Mosaik
    • Sensorly (website and application)
    • Map Elements
    • Cell Maps
    • Tower Source
    • Downdetector (and other Downdetector websites and applications)
    • RootMetrics

    In part, the purpose of this policy is to notify users of Ookla’s policies and practices with respect to their data. By using the services provided you have agreed to the Terms of Use (or ToU); and this policy is a part of the ToU.


  2. Information We Collect, Receive and Create about You

    We may collect or obtain information about you when you sign up, when you create profiles, pages or contributions, when you use and interact with our services and when you make your personal information public. In some cases, we may also receive information about you from third parties.

    Data you provide when you sign up: This is, for example, username, password, subscription information, and basic information about any other accounts you choose to associate with your registration, like your Apple, Facebook, or Google account.

    Data you provide when you create profiles, pages or contributions: This is user generated contributions, such as the contents of profiles, including your profile name, contact details and any demographic information you choose to provide; as well as any comments and posts made in forums. We seek to provide users with an opportunity to be a part of an online community and communicate and share with others. This can include personal information that users choose to share. We encourage all of our users to make conscious choices about what they share online. Ookla, including its affiliates, subsidiaries and parent company, is not responsible for the information you disclose to the public using our services.

    Inferences: We may infer data about you based on your interests, where you live, what language(s) you speak, and other data we have access to.

    Data we collect through your use of our services:

    1. Speedtest Offerings

      Speedtest by Ookla and Sensorly are offered on multiple devices, products and platforms, such as an extension on your web browser or as applications in certain products such as routers. They enable you to test the speed, latency and other primary network characteristics of your TCP/IP network connections and be provided with the results. Your Speedtest or Sensorly results may be used by Ookla to conduct analyses and prepare product enhancements, as well as to prepare market reports. Ookla licenses the Speedtest and Sensorly results, including any feedback you submit in connection therewith, to its business customers. Ookla also licenses the Speedtest and Sensorly applications to business customers who wish to have their end users test their own networks’ internet connectivity or, in the case of Speedtest, to test an end user’s connection(s) between a product and the Ookla network of servers.

    2. Downdetector

      Downdetector is offered on multiple devices, products and platforms. Downdetector collects data on outages of third party services, including anonymous reporting of outages directly to Downdetector, comments on Downdetector, social media posts regarding outages, and Other Information. Downdetector enables users to view the status of the third party services it tracks. Ookla licenses Downdetector data to its business customers.

    3. Records

      We make and keep records when we provide you support or assistance on our services. We may also collect information about how you interact with our various services (or parts of our services) or third party content you see on our apps and sites. We also collect data on how you interact with the ads you see.

    Data we receive from third parties: In some cases, we may receive information about you from third parties, for example, social networking sites. Please note that this policy does not cover the practices of third parties, including those that may disclose information to us.


  3. Data Processing and Retention

    We process your personal information in order to provide you the best experience of our services. We may also process your Information where the processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal rights.

    Below is a chart stating which categories of your personal information we process for which purposes specifically, and how long we retain that data. Our processing of your data is subject to your use of our service, your privacy preferences, and your account settings choices.

    Personal Information

    We may process the following categories of personal information about you.

    Categories of personal information

    Purpose of processing


    Legal Basis

    Retention Period

    Account Information (Personal Details): Information you provide to us such as, your name; postal address; telephone and/or mobile number; email address; login details, including username and password; public social media handles or profile(s); and any photographs posted by you and other users.

    To provide use of our services as agreed in the ToU.


    Legitimate Interest

    For the life of the account and a reasonable and legally compliant time thereafter.

    App Data: We may collect information from third-party apps.

    Maintain and improve service standards


    Legitimate Interest

    For the life of the account and a reasonable and legally compliant time thereafter.

    Audio, Video, and Other Electronic Data: Audio, electronic, visual, or similar information such as photographs, video submissions and call recordings.

    Promote user expression through our services and to conduct contests and rewards.


    Legitimate Interest

    For the life of the account and a reasonable and legally compliant time thereafter.

    Consent Records: Records of any consents you may have given, together with the date and time, means of consent and any related information (e.g., the subject matter of the consent).

    Comply with applicable laws and regulations and users’ choices.


    Legal Requirement

    For the life of the account and a reasonable and legally compliant time thereafter.

    Customer Records: Electronic customer records containing personal information, such as name, signature, address, telephone number, or any financial information. We may also collect personal information about you through your communications with our customer support team.
    NOTE: Please ensure that no sensitive personal data is submitted in connection with your requests for support (for example, health information, political or religious beliefs, information about minors, etc.).

    To maintain service standards and provide users with the ability to communicate efficiently and effectively with our company.


    Legitimate Interest

    Customer records will be kept in accordance with applicable laws.

    Demographic Information: gender; age/date of birth; job title, salutation, company information, work experience and other professional information; language preferences.

    Enable customer expression, maintain and improve service standards, and marketing.


    Legitimate Interest

    For the life of the account and a reasonable and legally compliant time thereafter.

    Location Information: We collect your IP address from which we can derive imprecise location information, for example, at the city or zip code level, of a user’s computer or device. We may also have this type of location information if you provide it to us during sign up or in your profile, project page, or contributions.

    Maintain service standards, provide relevant content and marketing.


    Legitimate Interest

    For the life of the account and a reasonable and legally compliant time thereafter.

    Precise Location Information: If your settings choices permit, we collect and process location data that describes the precise geographic location of your device. This may include your physical location and movements that allows us to periodically determine your geolocation.

    Marketing.


    Consent

    For the life of the account and a reasonable and legally compliant time thereafter.

    Profile Information and User Contributions: For certain services, you may choose to create a public profile, a project page or a profile page, or create your own contributions. All contents of these pages and contributions are processed, including any views and opinions included by you.

    Enable customer expression, and provide use of our services as agreed in the ToU.


    Legitimate Interest

    For the life of the account and a reasonable and legally compliant time thereafter.

    Inferences: Inferences drawn from personal information reflecting your preferences, characteristics, predispositions, behavior, and attitudes.

    To maintain and improve service standards.


    Legitimate Interest

    For the life of the account and a reasonable and legally compliant time thereafter.

    Transaction Information: information on how you interact with the Services, including records of products or services purchased, obtained or considered such as the coupons you view and redeem, the gift cards you purchase or sell via our Services, the cash back offers that you claim, including copies of receipts that you submit; financial information related to your transactions, information about you as needed to administer your participation in our rewards programs; payment information, including payment card number, expiration date, and CVN; other information about how you use our Services, email, or searches for and interactions with e-commerce opportunities, such as how you interact with our merchants, business partners, and service providers, including, in some cases and where your settings permit, the items you purchase from those merchants.

    Performance of a contract, marketing, providing full use of our services as agreed in the ToU.


    Legitimate Interest

    For the life of the account and a reasonable and legally compliant time thereafter.

    Device Information and Device ID: Device ID, which is a distinctive number associated with a smartphone or similar handheld device. As well as, device information, including Device type, operating system and software information, and settings.

    Maintain and improve the quality of services.


    Legitimate Interest

    For the life of the account and a reasonable and legally compliant time thereafter.

    Advertising Identifiers: A user-resettable identification number for advertising associated with a device (e.g., iOS uses the Identifier for Advertising (IDFA) and Android uses Google Advertising ID).

    Marketing.


    Consent

    For the life of the account and a reasonable and legally compliant time thereafter.

    Connectivity Data: Speedtest results and related data, WiFi connection, service set identifier (“SSID”), International Mobile Subscriber Identity (“IMSI”) and International Mobile Equipment Identity (“IMEI”).

    Maintain and improve the quality of services.


    Legitimate Interest

    For the life of the account and a reasonable and legally compliant time thereafter.

    Cookies: Information collected through the use of cookies, eTags, Javascript, pixel tags, device ID tracking, anonymous identifiers and other technologies, including information collected using such methods and technologies about (i) your visits to, and interaction and engagement with, the Services, Subject to your privacy choices and settings, content and ads on third party websites, applications, platforms and other media channels (“Channels”), and (ii) your interaction with emails including the content and ads therein (collectively, “Online Data”).

    Marketing.


    Consent

    In compliance with the Cookie Policy.

    Engagement Data: Information about (i) your visits to, and interaction and engagement with the services, content and ads on third party websites, applications, platforms and other media channels (“Channels”), and (ii) your interaction with emails including the content and ads therein (collectively, “Online Data”), which are collected through the use of cookies and cookie like technologies.

    Marketing.


    Consent

    In compliance with the Cookie Policy.


  4. Sensitive Personal Information

    We collect your precise location data to complete your Speedtest. We do not seek to collect or process other sensitive personal information, such as, race or ethnicity, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, physical or mental health, or sex life. Where users choose to disclose sensitive personal information within profiles, contributions or other free-text fields available through Ookla, we do not use the sensitive information for any additional purpose without consent, unless required to comply with laws, or prevent crimes.


  5. Direct Marketing

    We may use the contact details you provided us to reach out to you with information regarding services that may be of interest to you, for example, upcoming promotions. You may unsubscribe or opt out of SMS messages at any time at no cost.


  6. Behavioral Advertising

    Ookla and third parties, subject to your privacy choices and settings, may collect data about your behavior while using our services in order to provide you with more relevant interest-based advertising on other websites and applications, as well as our partners’ platforms and media channels. If you do not wish to receive this advertising, you can change your preferences by clicking here. The specific providers we use for behavioral advertising may change from time to time.


  7. Cookies

    We may collect information about you through the use of cookies and similar technologies on our sites and apps, or your devices. In compliance with your privacy choices and settings, we also may permit our third-party service providers to perform various analytics functions and to provide you with more relevant or interest-based advertisements using cookies.

    Some third parties may choose to use their own cookies for the purposes of collecting information relating to the viewing of their advertising. To learn more about how we use cookies, and to manage your preferences, please see our Cookie Policy. This policy, and our Cookie Policy, are only intended to cover the use of cookies as they relate to Ookla businesses.


  8. Information We Share with Third Parties

    Ziff Davis Companies: Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis Inc. We share your information with other businesses owned by Ziff Davis, Inc. (“Ziff Davis Companies”) to assist us in the operation of our services, improve them, and further develop them.

    We also share information with other Ziff Davis companies for the purposes of targeted advertising. If you would like to opt out of the sale or sharing of your data with other Ziff Davis companies, you can do so via our Privacy Portal.

    Other Third Parties: We may also share your personal information with the following:

    • Relevant third party provider, where our services use third party advertising, plugins or content, subject to your privacy choices and settings, and our ToU.

    • Merchants, business partners, or advertisers where you consented and chose to participate in offers, contests, or other activities.

    • Third party Processors (such as analytic providers; data centers; etc.), located anywhere in the world, subject to the requirements and limitations;

    • Legal and regulatory authorities, upon request, or for the purposes of reporting any actual or suspected breach of applicable law or regulation;

    • Any party as directed by a law enforcement agency or court, to the extent necessary for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal rights;

    • Law enforcement for the purposes of prevention, detection, or investigation of criminal offenses and any legal proceedings associated with them.

    • In the case of a full or partial acquisition, relevant third parties.

    Third Party Enterprise Customers: Except as otherwise described, the information we gather from all tests run through Ookla is collected anonymously and then aggregated to provide performance data to users on the Ookla websites, including its Speedtest server hosts, and/or to third parties to whom we license the information. We do this with the express intent of providing a neutral and unbiased monitoring and reporting resource for users around the world. For Speedtest and Sensorly, Ookla has a legitimate interest in sharing your Speedtest results with internet providers, hardware manufacturers and industry regulators to help them understand and create a better and faster internet. The only Speedtest results we do not license to third parties are those test results from instances of Speedtest Custom which are made available pursuant to a paid subscription or white label Sensorly applications. In such instances, the Speedtest results are owned by the subscriber and are subject to that subscriber’s privacy policy.

    Information collected through Speedtest and Sensorly may not be anonymous as follows: for some ISPs and mobile carriers, Ookla will provide full IP addresses and/or network, hardware or device identifiers for such ISP or mobile carrier’s customers upon request. Ookla may also provide full IP addresses and/or network, hardware and device identifiers, to equipment manufacturers and core network, or wholesale providers on a case-by-case basis for network research purposes. Ookla may also collect GeoIP Data and/or Precise Location Data, and such data may also be licensed and/or transferred to third parties.


  9. International Transfers of Information

    We may transfer your personal information to recipients in countries other than the one you reside. Where we transfer your personal information internationally, we do so on the basis of legally compliant mechanisms including, but not limited to, the standard contractual clauses and the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules. You may request a copy of the relevant standard contractual clauses by emailing [email protected].


  10. Data Security and Breach Handling

    We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information against unlawful destruction, loss alteration, misuse, or unauthorized access while in our possession. All parties we contract with must agree to provide reasonable data security measures for the customer information we share with them, in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

    If we learn of a security breach that affects our users, we may send an email or other direct communication to you, or post a blog to notify the public on our Help and Support Security Center. If you have any reason to believe that your data with us has been compromised (for example, there has been unauthorized access to your account), please contact us at [email protected].


  11. Data Retention

    We will retain your personal information for as long as is necessary in connection with the purposes set out in this policy, and in accordance with applicable laws. For more details on how long data is retained see the table in Section 3.


  12. Your Rights With Respect to Your Personal Information

    Many privacy regulations afford consumers a number of specific rights. The EEA, Brazil, California, and several other U.S. states grant specific rights to people living under their jurisdiction.

    Your rights:

    • Right to Withdraw Consent: Where you are requested to consent to the processing of your personal information, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

    • Right to Know: You have a right to know what personal information we collect, process, and share or sell. This policy is meant to provide transparency with regard to your data. If you have additional questions, you can email us at [email protected].

    • Right of Access: You can request a copy of the personal information we have collected about you from us.

    • Right to Delete/Erase: You can request us to delete all the information we have collected about you. It is important to note that by exercising your right to deletion you may lose access to your account and any purchases, points or features associated with it.

    • Right to Request Rectification: If you find that any of your information that we are processing is inaccurate, you can contact us to have your information corrected. In response, we will cancel or remove your information but may retain and use copies of your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. For certain requests, we may require additional information.

    • Right to Opt-out of the Sale or Sharing for Targeted Ads: Under some circumstances we may sell or share the personal data you provide to us to provide ads to you that align with your interests. If you would prefer not to have your data sold or shared, you can opt-out of selling or sharing by submitting a request via Privacy Portal or by emailing [email protected]. We may ask for additional information to verify your request.

    • Right to Object to the Processing: You can object to our processing of your personal information via our privacy portal, under certain circumstances. By objecting to processing, you may not be able to access some or all of our services. This right is limited to personal data processed for commercial purposes.

    • Right to Object to the Use of Sensitive Personal Information: You have the right to object to our use of your sensitive personal information. Sensitive personal information is information about your health, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, political opinions or philosophical beliefs. You should always be mindful about the personal information you share online, especially when it is sensitive in nature.

    • Right to Object to Automated Processing: You have a right to object to the processing of your data for the purposes of automated decision making about you.

    • Right to not be Discriminated Against: You have a right to not be discriminated against by ZMG for exercising your rights.

    • Right to Withdraw Consent: Where you are requested to consent to the processing of your personal information by IeL, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

    In order to make privacy requests please visit our Privacy Portal and fill out the form. You can also email us at [email protected]. Our contact information can be found in the “Contact Details” section below.

    You may be required to verify your identity before we can give effect to these rights. If you are making a request on behalf of a user, we require a signed authorization letter from the consumer.


  13. How to Change Your Preferences

    You can change your preferences at any time. Below is a list of some of the actions you can take.

    Access to Your Personal Information. Upon request Ookla will provide you with information about whether we hold any of your personal information. You may access, correct, or request deletion of your personal information by logging into your account, contacting us through our DSAR Portal, or the contact details listed in Section 14. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe.

    Your Newsletter and Email Subscriptions. You can opt out or unsubscribe to a newsletter or other email list at any time by following the instructions at the end of the newsletters or emails you receive. Please allow five to ten business days for changes to take effect. On some Services, member service-related communications are an integral part of such Services to which you subscribe and you may continue to receive emails as part of that particular portion of the Services unless you cancel your account, even if you opt out of the newsletters or email list. If you have provided more than one email address to us, you may continue to be contacted unless you request to unsubscribe each email address you have provided.

    Push Notifications. We send you push notifications from time-to-time in order to update you about any events or promotions that we may be running. If you no longer wish to receive these types of communications, you may turn them off at the device level. To ensure you receive proper notifications, we will need to collect certain information about your device such as operating system and user identification information.

    Speedtest App and Web Speed Feature. To turn off the background scanning feature of the Speedtest application, go to the settings or coverage maps features within the Speedtest application and switch the background scanning feature to “Off.” Please note if your smartphone or mobile device settings do not allow transmission of precise location data, certain features may not be available or their functions may be limited. You can opt out of the Speedtest Web Speed feature at any time by adjusting the settings on your web browser.

    California Residents. In accordance with the California Online Privacy Protection Act, we may collect Personal Information about your online activities when you use our services. California’s “Shine the Light” law permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain certain information about any Personal Information disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes. If you are a California resident and wish to make such a request or if you wish for us to refrain from gathering your Personal Information, please submit your request in writing to us using the contact details in Section 14.


  14. Contact Details

    You can submit privacy related inquiries to our Privacy Portal.

    For any additional questions, you can contact us by emailing [email protected] or at the following address:

    Ziff Davis, LLC
    Attention: Legal Department
    360 Park Avenue South, 17th Floor
    New York, New York 10010

    We have registered our DPO with the Irish Data Protection Commission. If you have any questions or concerns about our privacy practices, we encourage you to contact our DPO at the following email address [email protected] or at the following address:

    Ziff Davis
    Attention: Legal Department
    Unit. 3.1, Woodford Business Park
    Santry,
    Dublin 17
    Ireland


  15. Children

    These services are not intended for use by children, especially those under 18. We reserve the right to remove a user’s account at any time, when necessary, if we discover that a user is under the required age limit for the service. If you have reason to believe we have collected personal information from someone under 18, please report it to us so we can take appropriate steps to rectify this.


  16. California Consumer Rights Metrics

    Pursuant to the California privacy regulations, our consumer rights metrics can be found on our Regulatory Information site.


  17. How this Privacy Policy May Change

    This policy may be amended or updated from time to time at our discretion. Any updates will be effective at the time of publication, unless specified otherwise. Your continued use of our services after the publication of a policy update constitutes your consent to the changes. We will notify you prior to making policy updates that materially change the way we treat your personal data, and will not use your data in a materially different manner without your consent.


A Simplified Chinese translation of this Privacy Policy is located here. Ookla’s China Supplemental Privacy Policy is located here.