Zero-party data collection

Zero-party data collection is the process of asking customers to voluntarily share information about their preferences, needs, or intentions directly with a business. This includes preference-center choices, purchase intentions, and personal context in its definition. In a mobile app, this can mean choosing favorite product categories, setting a learning goal, or specifying which offers to receive

Zero-Party Data vs. First-Party Data

Zero-party data differs from behavioral first-party data, which records actions in your product, as explained in InAppStory’s comparison. Viewing running shoes is a behavioral signal, while answering “Running” in an interests question records a declared preference. Keep these signals distinguishable in customer profiles so an interest inferred from browsing is not treated as an explicit instruction from the user.

Why Collect Zero-Party Data?

Declared preferences can help personalize an experience before a customer has built a purchase or usage history. In PwC’s 2025 Customer Experience Survey of 5,511 US consumers, 53% considered sharing personal information worthwhile if it made interacting with a brand smoother. For an app team, the practical application is to explain what answering will change — “Choose your interests to see relevant offers” — and make that change visible after submission.

How to Collect Zero-Party Data in Mobile Apps

Onboarding and Contextual Questions

Collecting details gradually across interactions is called progressive profiling. A language-learning app, for example, could ask which language someone wants to study before recommending a first lesson, leaving practice-frequency questions until later. For example, in-app messages can introduce these questions through dismissible pop-ups or bottom sheets. Try keeping optional questions out of the way when someone is completing registration or another necessary task.

Story Polls and Quizzes

A poll in in-app Stories can ask which products someone would like to see next, just as Leroy Merlin Portugal did in their app. For a similar campaign, decide whether answers will inform aggregate research or update individual customer profiles, and explain that use before collecting them.

An in-app game campaign can include an optional preference quiz — for example, a furniture retailer could ask players which room they want to furnish. Use that answer to open a relevant product selection, giving the customer something useful immediately. Store the answer separately from scores and completion events, because finishing a game does not establish a product preference.

Preference Centers

Give users a preference center where they can revisit their interests and communication settings. A banner can provide an “Update my preferences” entry point, while a push notification can bring opted-in users back when an update would be useful. Apply saved changes to subsequent campaigns, and stop repeating a collection prompt once the customer has answered it.

Best Practices for Zero-Party Data Collection

1. Make Questions Easy to Answer Accurately

Ask one clear question and provide options that match real possibilities. Nielsen Norman Group’s survey-writing analysis warns that missing response options can prevent accurate answers, while unnecessarily long option lists make questions harder to scan. A retail app asking about favorite categories should allow multiple selections when appropriate, include “Other” or “No preference” where needed, and let users skip questions they do not want to answer.

2. Plan How Answers Will Be Used

Decide which recommendation or campaign rule each answer will change before launching the question. McKinsey’s personalization analysis connects customer data with decisions, content delivery, and measurement. For an app team, a practical starting record includes the question, answer, collection date, and intended use. Give users a way to edit saved preferences, and review time-sensitive answers so a completed shopping project does not shape offers indefinitely.

3. Keep Preferences and Permissions Separate

A voluntary answer does not authorize every future use of that information. The UK ICO’s consent guidance explains that consent must cover specific purposes and that people must be able to withdraw it. Where your program relies on consent, explain how the answers will be used and do not treat selecting a product category as permission to start sending push notifications.