Osano Secures $3M Seed Funding

Osano, a company building the first platform for data privacy transparency, emerged from stealth with the launch of Privacy Monitor, a free browser plugin and mobile app that helps users understand how websites, software vendors and other service providers treat their data privacy. Osano analyzes thousands of online privacy policies and communicates that analysis through Privacy Monitor, empowering users to make informed decisions about how they interact and share data with those websites and service providers.

"The average person doesn't understand where their personal data goes in terms of how websites and service providers use and share it," said Arlo Gilbert, CEO and co-founder of Osano. "With data privacy at the constant forefront of tech industry and consumer conversations, greater transparency is desperately needed on the web to unlock the secrecy of convoluted privacy policies and give users control over their data again."

Privacy Monitor is available as a lightweight plugin for Chrome, Firefox and Safari browsers and as a mobile app for Android and, soon, iOS. As users navigate around the web, Privacy Monitor alerts them of a proprietary privacy reputation score for the website they are visiting as well as which direction the score is trending. In the mobile app, users can also search for specific websites or online services. The privacy reputation score is calculated and updated based on how companies gather and utilize users' data, where and with whom they share it, how it is stored and whether they comply with regulations like GDPR, among other factors.

To begin using Privacy Monitor, individuals can download it from the appropriate app store or install it in seconds by visiting https://www.privacymonitor.com/. All Privacy Monitor plugins and apps are open source, never track user activity and do not include ads.

To date, dozens of licensed attorneys hired by Osano have dissected terms and conditions and established Privacy Monitor reputation scores for hundreds of the world's most popular websites, with more added daily. Osano will also offer both paid services for businesses and APIs for developers to access its trove of powerful data on privacy policies and practices. CIOs and technology buyers from enterprises will find the information valuable for their decision-making processes, based on understanding how their employees' and customers' data is treated by vendors and partners.

Founded in 2018, Osano is backed by $3 million in seed funding led by LiveOak Ventures with participation from a team of notable investors including Next Coast Ventures, Capital Factory, Social Starts, Barracuda Networks and 345Partners Co-Founder Michael Perone, data.world and Bazaarvoice Founder Brett Hurt, and Indeed Founder Rony Kahan. Osano operates as a B Corporation, a unique business designation that means the company considers the impact of its decisions on employees, customers, vendors, the community and the environment, and balances purpose and profit.

Gilbert, a serial entrepreneur, previously co-founded a SaaS management provider before a successful exit in mid-2018. He also founded and grew both iCall, the first VoIP provider for iPhone (acquired in 2012) and affiliate marketing firm Click Feel Media, and holds multiple patents for e-commerce currently occurring through voice assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri.

The Osano executive team will be participating in SXSW Pitch 2019 on Saturday, March 9 in the Enterprise and Smart Data Technology category, during the 12:30-1:30 p.m. CST session at the Hilton Austin Downtown, Salon DE. All SXSW badge holders are invited to attend.

For more information, please visit https://www.osano.com/.

About Osano

At Osano, we believe that increasing transparency is for the good of the entire Internet. The web is built on trust, so websites, software vendors and service providers should be held accountable for how they gather, use, share and handle users' personal data. However, current privacy policies and practices mean that rights and responsibilities are known and understood only by service providers. Founded in 2018 as a B Corporation with a clear mission, Osano's platform, services and Privacy Monitor tools contribute to the education and transparency that represent the first step toward informing users and protecting data privacy rights.