Mobile Data Broker Kochava Must Face Consumer Privacy Suit

Kochava Inc. failed to avoid a privacy lawsuit accusing the mobile analytics company of gathering consumers’ information, including location and spending habits data, without their knowledge.

Consumers didn’t properly agree to share the data “secretly” collected from their mobile phones, a judge in the US District Court for the Southern District of California ruled on Thursday. The ruling lets a state resident who claimed he was affected move forward with a proposed class action filed on behalf of other consumers.

Apps that contain Kochava’s code gather mobile data that the company sells to clients, such as retailers, seeking to target ...