Will the monetization of user data trend 2019?

In 2018, data monetization became a buzzword in the application industry.

To make a profit from the application, it is important to know all the unobvious ways to monetize it and make the most effective use of the most effective ones. Monetizing user data is beneficial when you know the rules of the game and all the pitfalls.

In this article, we figured out whether the monetization of user data can be a permanent source of income for developers.

In 2018, user spending in applications exceeded $ 76 billion. This is 20% more than in 2017. The rapidly growing number of mobile application users is attracting even more advertisers:



A review of the most profitable applications for 2018 showed that mobile games remain the leaders in in-game purchases. Giants like Netflix, Tinder and Spotify still hold their positions at a high level. But since the number of smartphone owners is increasing every year, small applications still have the opportunity to receive their share of the profits.

In an era of data, user information can help you find insights that companies can turn into millions of dollars in revenue. That is why many companies are happy to pay for quality non-personal data and improve their products or services. Therefore, if you are launching a mobile game or utility, you have all the opportunities to increase your monthly income by monetizing data.

Monetizing applications using user data is a process that involves the collection and transmission of anonymous user data from data applications to collectors.

Non-personal data that collect date collectors include:



Any personal information about users, such as name, age, gender, interests and income is not transferred to third parties.

User data is usually needed by advertisers, telecommunications companies, research institutes, brand marketers, etc. Qualitative data about smartphone users allows analyzing and modeling the behavior of existing and potential customers. Monetization of data is somewhat similar to advertising mediation: the greater the date of the collectors you have in one SDK, the higher the income of the application when you monetize this data.

To ensure that the monetization of data was carried out correctly, without violating the GDPR and the laws of common sense, you can cooperate with intermediary companies. In fact, you only need one good intermediary to ensure effective monetization of application data.

Intermediaries are companies that have contracts with dozens of verified advertisers and research centers, they know what data they need and are ready to provide aggregated (and therefore more accurate) data from several dozen applications at once.

By adding an intermediary's SDK to an application, you can monetize a larger percentage of user data and save time searching for companies that can buy data directly (the spoiler is critically low: many simply don’t want to work with single applications).

6 things you need to know before you start monetizing user data

It is easy to monetize user data - this method is considered one of the easiest ways to passive income of a mobile application. However, there are several important steps in preparing an application before monetization starts. These tips will help you do everything right:

• Since monetization involves the transfer of anonymous non-personal data (if it is not Cambridge analytica and others like it), collectors usually want to buy them in bulk and more. The ideal number of users for data monetization is at least 70,000 DAU, otherwise there is a chance to get a low income. Appgrow and Mobiburn have a good profit calculator, but it's better to test - it all depends on the type of user permissions, geo and other factors.
• When working with a date collector, make sure that he really needs your audience. For example, 80% of your users are from Thailand. It is extremely important to find an intermediary who is interested in the Thai audience and will pay a good price for the user.
• Pay attention to how much the SDK on data monetization weighs, the ability to fully manage and the intermediary's website - usually all dummy sites are hastily made on WordPress, with a twitter like this:

• Monetizing user data is safe for users because you manage it completely. When adding an SDK to monetize data in an application, include only those parameters that are safe to transfer. The more parameters you open for the collection, the more you earn.
• Make sure 100% that the user data you are transmitting does not violate the GDPR policy.
• ALWAYS ask for user consent before collecting their data. Make sure users give explicit consent for data collection before using the application.

How does data monetization work?

The whole process of monetizing data can be configured in a few hours. Setting up user data monetization consists of three simple steps:

1. Add permissions to your application code.

An example of an authorization code that you can use when providing access to network status data:



These permissions will allow date collectors to receive non-personal data about users of the application. They can access only the data specified in the permission code.

2. Add the data monetization SDK, provided by the collector date, to the app.

3. Prepare the user agreement and paste it into the application code.

After downloading the SDK on Android, the user's consent will look like this:



Once this process is complete, monetizing the data will no longer require your attention. As soon as the user agrees to the transfer of non-personal data, you will begin to earn.

Why data monetization can become the next big thing

Monetization of user data has several advantages compared to other monetization options:

• Monetization of data begins to generate income immediately after implementation. You get paid for the same users every month.
• Unlike in-app advertising, monetizing data does not affect the UX. This happens in the background and does not annoy users.
• Data monetization is suitable for any category of mobile applications.
• This solution does not require constant optimization and developer attention.
• Data monetization has one of the highest CPM rates in the industry. Because the competition for data quality is not as great as in advertising, the cost per thousand impressions is higher.
• SDK for data monetization does not compete with other SDK. Therefore, you can add it to your code along with other SDKs and turn it into additional income.
• Using data monetization, you can focus on your work and make money with your application.

To earn more with your app, you must go beyond the standard application monetization strategies. One of the obvious ways to monetize mobile apps is data monetization. In 2018, the monetization of data has established itself as a steady source of income for Android and iOS applications, and may well become a new trend of monetization in 2019.

The introduction of the GDPR, intrigue-investigation scandals in America and individual developer stories raise a lot of hype around user monetization. As with any relatively new method of monetization, there can be no other advice besides “testing for yourself”. The main thing is to choose a proven collector date, play by the rules and avoid any extremes in the access and monetization settings.

We are now testing the monetization of data, so if there are still developers who have tried this type of monetization, share the results and experience with data collectors in the comments.