Your Data Is Being Bought and Sold—Here’s What You Need to Know

Your online activity, your searches, the articles you read, the forms you fill out—it’s all valuable. And there’s a massive industry built around collecting, packaging, and selling that data to businesses.

Companies pay top dollar for access to buyer behavior insights, and data brokers are making billions off it. But how does this all actually work?

Let’s break down who’s selling your data, who’s buying it, and why it matters.

Who’s Selling Your Data?

There’s no single source of intent data. Instead, it’s a mix of tech companies, data brokers, ad networks, and publishers, all gathering and reselling information.

✔ Data Brokers (The Middlemen)

• Companies like ZoomInfo, Clearbit, and Bombora aggregate and sell B2B contact and intent data.
• They collect info from websites, partnerships, and sometimes questionable sources (more on that later).

✔ Ad Networks (Tracking Your Every Click)

• Google, Meta, LinkedIn, and other ad platforms track search behavior, clicks, and engagement data.
• This data is used for retargeting ads and is sometimes shared with external partners.

✔ SaaS Platforms (Harvesting User Behavior)

• Some software tools track user interactions and resell that data as buyer intent signals.
• If a tool is free or cheap, chances are you’re the product—your data is being monetized.

✔ Public Web Scraping (Not Always Legal or Ethical)

• Some companies scrape LinkedIn, corporate websites, and social media to build massive B2B contact databases.
• GDPR and CCPA have cracked down on unauthorized data scraping, but it still happens.

Who’s Buying Your Data?

Businesses will pay for any competitive edge they can get. The biggest buyers of intent data include:

✔ B2B Sales & Marketing Teams

• Companies use intent data to target in-market buyers before competitors do.

✔ Private Equity & Investors

• Investment firms use data to track industry trends and company growth signals.

✔ Political Campaigns

• Voter targeting uses intent data to predict political preferences and influence decisions.

✔ Ad Agencies & Media Buyers

• They buy audience data to run highly targeted ad campaigns.

Some companies ethically use intent data for better outreach. Others abuse it, leading to shady practices like cold spam, data breaches, and privacy violations.

The Risks of the Data Economy

🚩 Most people don’t know their data is being sold.
Even though privacy policies disclose data collection, few people actually read them.

🚩 Bad data = bad decisions.
If businesses rely on stale, inaccurate, or low-quality data, they’re wasting time and money.

🚩 Privacy laws are tightening.
GDPR, CCPA, and other regulations are cracking down on unauthorized data selling—but enforcement is still playing catch-up.

🚩 Not all intent data is ethical.
Some companies buy sketchy third-party data without verifying how it was collected.

How to Use Intent Data Without Contributing to the Problem

If your business is using intent data, make sure you’re doing it the right way:

1️⃣ Work with transparent data providers. If they can’t explain where their data comes from, don’t trust them.

2️⃣ Prioritize first-party data. The most accurate intent data comes from your own website, CRM, and customer interactions.

3️⃣ Respect privacy laws. Make sure your data sources are GDPR and CCPA compliant.

4️⃣ Use intent data to add value, not just sell harder. Personalization and timing matter—don’t spam people just because they show intent.

Know Where Your Data Comes From

The data economy isn’t going away, but businesses that value transparency and ethical data practices will have the edge.

Want to see how intent data works when it’s done the right way?

View the Intent Data Slide Deck to see real, high-quality intent data in action. If you’re ready to start using intent data that actually helps you close deals, you can purchase it here.