WHAT THE POLICIES SAY

OpenX (OpenX Technologies, Inc., Pasadena, California, private, with an EU entity in Krakow, Poland) operates a real-time bidding ad exchange that monetizes publisher websites and mobile apps by selling ad space to advertising partners. Its own Ad Exchange Privacy Policy (verified via a July 2026 Wayback snapshot after the live page returned no static content under the pipeline UA) states it collects data about users from publishers, advertising partners and third-party data providers, uses cookies and other persistent identifiers to track users across websites, apps and devices, and states plainly that it "sells and shares" personal data for interest-based/targeted advertising. In December 2021 the FTC announced a $2 million settlement (via a DOJ-filed complaint) alleging OpenX violated COPPA by knowingly collecting data — including geolocation — from users of child-directed apps without parental consent, and continued collecting geolocation from some users who had opted out; the order required data deletion and a privacy program. No other regulator action or breach was found in this research.

TRACK RECORD

1 ENFORCEMENT ACTION

[2021-12-16]

The FTC announced on December 16, 2021 that OpenX Technologies, Inc. would pay $2 million to settle allegations, brought via a DOJ-filed complaint, that it violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by knowingly collecting personal information, including geolocation, from children under 13 without parental consent, and that it continued to collect geolocation data from some users who had specifically opted out of location tracking; the resulting order required data deletion and a privacy program.

ftc.gov ↗

TIMELINE

NO ENTRIES ON FILE YET.

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RECEIPTS

6 ON FILE

[2021-12-16] · COLLECTION

The FTC's investigation found that OpenX reviewed hundreds of child-directed apps in its ad exchange with titles and age ratings identifying an audience under 13 (e.g., "for toddlers," "kids games," "preschool learning"), did not flag these apps or their data as child-directed, and continued collecting personal information — including geolocation — from users of those apps, per the FTC's December 2021 press release announcing a $2 million COPPA settlement.

ftc.gov ↗

[2026-07-07] · COLLECTION

OpenX's Ad Exchange Privacy Policy states that OpenX collects data about users from publishers, advertising partners, and third-party data providers (including consumer data resellers), rather than collecting data directly from a consumer-facing product with user consent.

web.archive.org ↗

[2026-07-07] · OWNERSHIP TRANSPARENCY

OpenX's Ad Exchange Privacy Policy names the operating entities as OpenX Poland sp. z o.o. (Krakow, Poland) for EU-based contacts and OpenX Technologies, Inc., headquartered at 35 North Lake Avenue, Suite 240, Pasadena, California, for US-based contacts, and provides a named data protection officer email/phone contact; no parent company, investor page, or public filing was found in this research.

web.archive.org ↗

[2026-07-07] · SHARING

OpenX's Ad Exchange Privacy Policy states directly that OpenX sells and shares personal data for interest-based advertising purposes (what it calls "cross-context behavioral" or "targeted" advertising), and separately states it shares the data it collects, and information learned from it, with the Advertising Partners that use its Ad Exchange to decide whether, where and how to serve ads to the user.

web.archive.org ↗

[2021-12-16] · TRACK RECORD

The FTC announced on December 16, 2021 that OpenX Technologies, Inc. would pay $2 million to settle allegations, brought via a DOJ-filed complaint, that it violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by knowingly collecting personal information, including geolocation, from children under 13 without parental consent, and that it continued to collect geolocation data from some users who had specifically opted out of location tracking; the resulting order required data deletion and a privacy program.

ftc.gov ↗

[2026-07-07] · TRACKING TECH

OpenX's Ad Exchange Privacy Policy states that, using cookies and other persistent identifiers that track online activity, OpenX collects data about users across different websites and apps, and across different devices, in order to understand users' online activity and interests over time and serve relevant ads.

web.archive.org ↗

LAST REVIEWED 2026-08-19 · METHODOLOGY v1.7