Federal Trade Commission · Announced 2024-01-09

X-Mode Social, Inc.

First-ever FTC order prohibiting a data broker from selling sensitive location data. X-Mode / Outlogic sold precise geolocation that could identify consumers’ visits to medical, reproductive-health, religious, and military locations.

Case identifiers

Respondent
X-Mode Social, Inc. (and Outlogic, LLC)
Agency
Federal Trade Commission
Announced
2024-01-09
Monetary relief
Injunctive only
Case number
FTC File No. 212-3038
Statutes cited
FTC Act § 5 (unfair practices)

Key facts

  • 1

    X-Mode (now Outlogic) sold precise geolocation data collected through SDKs embedded in third-party mobile apps.

  • 2

    The data could identify consumers’ visits to reproductive health clinics, places of religious worship, domestic violence shelters, and military bases.

  • 3

    FTC alleged X-Mode failed to verify consumers had consented to sale of their location data and failed to honor opt-outs.

  • 4

    Landmark consent order, the first time FTC banned a data broker from sharing or selling sensitive location data.

What the order requires

Injunctive terms imposed by the Federal Trade Commission. These bind X-Mode Social, Inc.'s data practices going forward.

  • Prohibition on selling, sharing, or licensing precise location data that could reveal visits to sensitive locations.
  • Deletion of all previously collected location data (or de-identification to FTC standard).
  • Development of a "sensitive location list" identifying places where tracking is banned.
  • Establishment of a comprehensive consumer privacy program.

Primary sources

Read the original government documents. These are the authoritative records, everything on this page is derived from them.

Exercise your rights now

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The FTC order binds X-Mode Social, Inc.'s future practices, but doesn't automatically delete your existing data. State privacy law (CCPA, CPA, TDPSA, VCDPA) gives you that right. OfflistMe generates a compliant deletion email pre-addressed to X-Mode Social, Inc.'s registered privacy contact.

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FAQ

What did the FTC charge X-Mode Social, Inc. with?+

First-ever FTC order prohibiting a data broker from selling sensitive location data. X-Mode / Outlogic sold precise geolocation that could identify consumers’ visits to medical, reproductive-health, religious, and military locations. The Federal Trade Commission cited FTC Act § 5 (unfair practices).

How much did X-Mode Social, Inc. pay?+

The 2024-01-09 order did not include monetary penalties against X-Mode Social, Inc.; the agency focused on injunctive relief (prohibiting certain practices going forward).

Does the X-Mode Social, Inc. settlement mean my data has been deleted?+

The order requires X-Mode Social, Inc. to delete certain categories of consumer data (see injunctive terms). Individual consumers should still exercise state-law deletion rights (CCPA, CPA, TDPSA) to confirm deletion from any remaining successor databases.

How can I read the original FTC order?+

The Federal Trade Commission press release is available at https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/01/ftc-order-prohibits-data-broker-x-mode-social-outlogic-sharing-or-selling-sensitive-location-data. The case / matter number is FTC File No. 212-3038.

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