Data Analysis

Website Data Sharing

Last updated:
LSE website cookie consent popup showing 1,534 partners
LSE.co.uk's cookie consent notice showing 1,534 potential data sharing partners

About This Research

We conducted an extensive analysis of data sharing practices across major websites in 20 countries. Our research focused on understanding how websites share user data with third-party partners and advertising vendors, aiming to provide transparency into modern web tracking practices.

Key Findings

Study Scope

  • Analyzed top 100 websites across 20 countries
  • 2,000 total websites examined
  • Focus on cookie notices and privacy policies

Data Sharing Range

  • Partners ranged from 1 to 1,534
  • Lowest: Tesco.com (UK) - 1 partner
  • Highest: LSE.co.uk (UK) - 1,534 partners
  • German websites had lowest average (192 partners)

Methodology

For each website, we:

  • Used a VPN to access from the target country
  • Waited for cookie/privacy notices
  • Recorded number of potential data sharing partners
  • Analyzed default sharing settings

Geographic Coverage

Our study initially covered: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States.

Unfortunately we found that outside of the UK and the EU websites were less transparent about the number of 3rd parties they were sharing data with. Either it was not listed, or it was hidden too far into the site. As there was not enough data for those we decided to exclude them from the current version of this report.

Average Number of Partners by Country

Germany
192
Netherlands
221
France
281
Belgium
285
Ireland
344
Sweden
345
United Kingdom
357
Italy
606
Poland
609
Spain
706

Data Sharing Partners by Country

Country Average Partners Max Partners Min Partners
Germany
1928508
Netherlands
22184730
France
28188019
Belgium
28588428
Ireland
344146323
Sweden
345147023
United Kingdom
35715341
Italy
606146512
Poland
609127129
Spain
70614636

The data reveals significant variations in data sharing practices across European countries:

  • Germany has the lowest average (192 partners), followed by the Netherlands (221) and France (281)
  • Poland and Southern European countries show higher sharing rates, with Spain averaging 706 partners
  • The UK presents extreme contrasts, from the study's lowest (1 partner) to its highest (1,534 partners)

Top Data Sharing Websites

WebsiteCountryPartners
lse.co.uk
United Kingdom
1534
allabolag.se
Sweden
1470
mirror.co.uk
United Kingdom
1465
liberoquotidiano.it
Italy
1465
express.co.uk
United Kingdom
1465
quotidiano.net
Italy
1465
filmaffinity.com
Spain
1463
mrkoll.se
Sweden
1463
entertainment.ie
Ireland
1463
eliteprospects.com
Sweden
1463
tvguia.es
Spain
1462
o2.pl
Poland
1271
dailymail.co.uk
United Kingdom
1269
medonet.pl
Poland
1199
dailymail.co.uk
Ireland
1181
lubimyczytac.pl
Poland
1011
se.pl
Poland
1011
eltiempo.es
Spain
974
elmundo.es
Spain
963
marca.com
Spain
963

Looking at the websites with the highest number of data sharing partners, some categories stand out:

  • News & Media: UK and Italian news sites feature prominently (Mirror, Express, Daily Mail) with 1,200+ partners each
  • Business Directories: Sites like LSE.co.uk and Allabolag.se with 1,400+ partners
  • Entertainment: TV guides, sports sites (TVGuia.es, Marca.com), and entertainment portals

Variations in Data Sharing

Consistent Global Sharing

Some major platforms maintain consistent data sharing across all countries:

IMDB.com

CountryPartners
Germany103
Italy103
Netherlands103
Sweden103
United Kingdom103

Spotify.com

CountryPartners
Belgium95
Germany95
Ireland95
Italy95
Netherlands95
Spain95
Sweden95
United Kingdom95

Regional Variations

Other websites adjust their data sharing based on location:

Leukerecepten.nl

CountryPartners
Belgium168
Netherlands253

dailymail.co.uk

CountryPartners
Ireland1181
United Kingdom1269

Tesco's Single Partner

In the UK, Tesco.com stood out for asking permission to share data with just one partner:


Tesco website cookie consent showing just 1 partner
Tesco.com's cookie consent notice showing only 1 data sharing partner

In case you were wondering - the partner is 'Google Advertising Products':

Tesco website cookie consent showing just 1 partner
Google Advertising Products, alone in the Vendor List

Coming Soon

Some more data around the options for consent was not quite ready to include in this report. We will add this when it is. These additional findings should be applicable to all countries in the study, not just the EU + UK.