Glossary/Audience data/Data clean room
What is a data clean room and how does it work?
How a data clean room works, what publishers and advertisers use one for, and its limits.
Written by Samhub with the help of AI·Updated 13 Oct 2026·3 min readA data clean room is a secure environment where two or more companies can match and analyze their data together, without either side seeing the other’s raw personal data.
How a clean room works
Both sides upload data
Usually pseudonymized, such as hashed emails.
Data is matched inside
Overlap is found without exposing records.
Only results come out
Aggregated counts, audiences or measurement.
Common uses
16 pages for publishers, with a checklist for data, programmatic and direct sales.
Limits to know
Addressability at Stampen Media after moving its reader data into one layer with Samhub.
Frequently asked questions
It can lower risk, but both sides still need a legal basis and clear agreements.
Cloud platforms, ad tech companies and some large media owners.
Mainly for data partnerships with large advertisers or retailers.
Usually pseudonymized identifiers such as hashed emails, plus the attributes to analyze.
Related terms
An email address turned into a fixed code that cannot be read back.
Replacing direct identifiers so data cannot be linked to a person on its own.
Advertising sold by retailers on their own shopper data.
Data you collect directly from your own readers.
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