Zero-Party Data
Zero-Party Data
Preference data that users intentionally and directly share with a company.
In Simple Terms
Zero-Party Data is information that users intentionally and directly share with a company. Examples include clothing preferences given in a survey or topics of interest chosen when signing up for a newsletter. It's used when a company wants to tailor its service based on what customers say about themselves, rather than guessing their preferences by tracking their browsing history.
Behind the Name
The term was coined by the research firm Forrester. Traditional first-party (a company's own data), second-party (a partner's), and third-party (purchased) data all rely on observation or inference. This data, in contrast, is volunteered directly by the customer — so Forrester named this new category "zero," giving us the term "Zero-Party Data."
Take a Closer Look!
Zero-Party Data refers to data that customers intentionally share with a company. This includes survey responses, self-reported preferences, and requests for products they'd like to see next.
In short, instead of a company inferring what a buyer likes from behavioral history, the buyer tells the company directly. Traditional data collection often relied on behavioral data — such as browsing history and purchase records — to predict interests. Zero-Party Data, by contrast, is information customers disclose themselves, so it's less prone to the gaps and guesswork of inference.
It's used as a privacy-conscious way to collect data with the customer's consent. Companies rely on it to deliver information tailored to what customers said they want, and to recommend services suited to individual preferences.