Updated October 2026
You filled in a "see if you qualify" form. What happens now?
Expect a call or a text with a rough quote. Most of these ads open a Meta Instant Form rather than a website, so the company has your name and number before you have read its terms. Use the gap before the callback to look the company up.1
What the forms ask
Three to five questions, then your phone number
Most forms ask three to five quick questions, such as your headcount, years of records and where you are based, then your phone number. Some say they will text you a quote. The longer web estimators ask more, including how many business entities you run, how much is in English and whether any data is sensitive, so the short forms likely cover a subset.2,3,4,5,6
Who has your answers
Find out who you just talked to
The name on the ad may not be the buyer. We counted at least 18 advertisers running these ads on Meta, almost all launched between 2026-09-01 and 2026-10-14, and most are brokers. A page called Data Specialists links to a micro1 job post, which suggests a reseller but says nothing directly. Ask the caller: are you the buyer, and if not, who is?7,3
Check the ad itself. The Meta Ad Library shows every active ad from a page and when it started. Meta removed some micro1 ads in September and October 2026 for not following its Advertising Standards, without saying what they said. A page whose first ad ran last week is not a red flag on its own, but it is worth knowing.8
The callback
What to say when they call
Give them your numbers: headcount, years, systems. Do not send files, logins or samples on the first call. Ask for a website, a company name, a written description of the offer and the AI labs involved. MIT Technology Review found sellers often cannot see the end buyer, so ask early.9
Expect a range wrapped in ad language, most often $100K-$2M+, which is the advertiser's own claim. A real number comes only after the buyer has seen cleaned samples, and the terms should be in writing before anything moves.3,10,11,12,13
If you would rather skip the cold callbacks, our quiz asks the same few questions and introduces you only to the buyers we work with that take a company your size, each with a named company and a website you can read first.
FAQ
Questions, answered with sources
Most of these ads use Meta Instant Forms, which collect your details inside Facebook or Instagram. It is fast for the advertiser and gives you nothing to read first.1
Often not. Most of the 18+ advertisers we counted are brokers. Ask who the buyer is.7
Meta removed some micro1 ads in September and October 2026 for not following its Advertising Standards. Meta does not show what they said.8
Every business is different, so this one is best talked through with the buyer you're working with. Their team goes over it with you before anything is signed.
Before you sign
Questions to talk through with your buyer
Every business is different, so these are best talked through with the buyer you're working with. Their team goes over them with you before anything is signed.
Questions for this kind of business
- How do CCPA, GDPR, UK GDPR and state privacy laws apply, and is de-identified data still personal information?
Questions for any buyer
- Is the license exclusive, and for how long?
- Can you sublicense the data, and to whom?
- Which AI labs will receive it, and will you tell us?
- How long do you keep it, and how is it deleted?
- What is your liability cap, and who indemnifies whom?
- Will the contract ban re-identification of people in the data?
- Who removes personal data, by what method, and do we approve it first?