COMPANY PROFILE
Nielsen
Headquarters: New York, United States · Founded: 1923
1 fine or sanction
What it does and how it makes money
Nielsen is a US audience measurement company, known for TV ratings, that also measures digital and audio audiences. It has been private since 2022, owned by a consortium led by Elliott (Evergreen Coast Capital) and Brookfield; it is not the same company as NielsenIQ.
It sells audience data and analytics to TV networks, platforms, advertisers and agencies, which use them to price and plan advertising. [1]
What data it collects about you
According to its digital panel policy, its metering software collects device identifiers, IP address, apps used and time spent, websites visited, GPS or Wi-Fi location when enabled, and what is watched on TV, along with panelists' demographic and contact data. On third-party sites and apps it also measures visits through cookies and identifiers. [2]
Money
Fines and sanctions
- FTC · United States · September 20, 2013Settlement with the FTC (antitrust) to allow its purchase of Arbitron for about USD 1.26 billion: the FTC found the deal could reduce competition in cross-platform audience measurement. Nielsen had to sell and license Arbitron assets to an approved buyer. No fine. These are the FTC's allegations, resolved by settlement. [3]
Data breaches and hacks
We found no published data breaches when we checked it on October 12, 2026.
Ask it to delete your data
With GUARDIANA or GUARDIANA ZERO, you download from this same profile the letter asking it to delete your data, under your country’s law, ready to attach to an email.
Its website
Does this company follow you? GUARDIANA ZERO, GUARDIANA’s browser, cuts its connections and shows you how many times it tried. Meet GUARDIANA ZERO →
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nielsen_Holdings
- https://digitalpanel.nielsen.com/ui/US/en/privacypolicyen.html
- https://www.ftc.gov/node/45991
What this profile does NOT say
- It does not say this company does anything illegal. The only thing it states about anyone’s legality is what a regulator or a court has already decided, with the date and the link to the source.
- It does not say what data of yours it holds: only the company knows, which is why you have the right to ask it.
- If you are this company and a fact is wrong, write to hola@guardianagroup.com and it will be corrected, with its date.
Public facts with their sources, checked on October 12, 2026. All profiles →