APDADOS - Associação Nacional dos Profissionais de Privacidade de Dados

What APDADOS - Associação Nacional dos Profissionais de Privacidade de Dados does

APDADOS — Associação Nacional dos Profissionais de Privacidade de Dados is a Brazilian nonprofit professional association founded in 2019, headquartered at Rua Mamoré 305 in São Paulo. It operates as the national professional body for data privacy practitioners in Brazil, organized around six specialized committees (Comitê Público, Jurídico, Segurança, Governança, Científico, StarTech) that aggregate lawyers, IT/security professionals, governance/GRC practitioners, researchers, and technology specialists into a credential-gated community. The association is structured as a membership organization that acquires members through a self-serve website signup with publicly disclosed pricing — free for Comitê Público, R$480/year for the four professional committees, and R$199/year for StarTech — and content delivered in Portuguese, English, and Spanish across 18 countries.

The association does not develop proprietary software platforms but maintains several digital assets that constitute its core product surface: (1) the Programa de Verificação de Softwares APDADOS, a paid three-phase scientific verification program (documentary analysis, interviews, direct observation) grounded in Design Science Research that issues Ouro/Prata/Bronze compliance seals for software tools against LGPD, GDPR, ISO-27001, and ISO-27701; (2) the Portal das Violações LGPD, a publicly accessible, filterable database of LGPD enforcement actions across Brazilian states; (3) the official events calendar; and (4) the Biblioteca, Pareceres Técnicos, and Livraria resource repositories. Distribution is community-led and direct: self-serve website membership, accredited third-party training centers as a reseller channel, and direct B2B engagement for software verification audits.

Revenue is diversified across four streams: recurring annual committee membership fees (subscription), paid software verification audits (professional services), training center accreditation fees (licensing/royalties), and affiliate/referral commissions from partner services including DPO insurance via NV Seguros, the Inmea Câmara Privada, and a privacy education game. The customer base is structurally low-concentration: individual professionals form a long tail of low-fee members, while the B2B verification line targets a broader set of software vendors without disclosed enterprise anchors. Leadership comprises Dr. Davis Alves (President, DPO), Thiago Portugal (Director of the Legal Committee, DPO), Thiago Rosa (Director of the Public Committee), and Prof. Doutor Luiz Lima (Coordinator of the Scientific Committee).

Name

APDADOS - Associação Nacional dos Profissionais de Privacidade de Dados

Legal name

APDADOS - Associação Nacional dos Profissionais de Privacidade de Dados

Website

https://apdados.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

APDADOS is a Brazilian nonprofit professional association founded in 2019 that serves data privacy professionals across 18 countries through six specialized committees, a paid software verification program for LGPD/GDPR compliance, and a public LGPD enforcement violations portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Privacy Professional Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDABADAF

Information Governance, Records Management & eDiscovery Compliance

Education/Corporate Training & Professional Development/Compliance, Ethics & Regulatory Training

SECONDARYBPAGAFAK

Consumer Rights & Public Interest Advocacy

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Civil Rights, Advocacy & Public Policy Organizations

Keywords

• Data protection association
• Privacy compliance verification
• LGPD professional membership
• GDPR compliance certification
• Software compliance auditing

Headquarters

HQ city

Porto Alegre

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Annual Committee Membership Fees: Members pay annual fees to join specialized committees. Comitê Público is free; Governança, Segurança, Jurídico, and Científico committees charge R$480.00 per year; StarTech committee charges R$199.00 per year.
2. Software Verification Program: The association conducts a scientific verification process (Programa de Verificação de Softwares APDADOS) for LGPD/GDPR compliance of software tools. Companies submit their tools for audit in three phases (documentary analysis, interviews, direct observation) and receive a seal (Ouro, Prata, or Bronze) plus a Certificate of Verification. This is a paid service for software companies.
3. Accredited Training Center Program: The association accredits/approves training centers and schools for LGPD education, charging fees for the accreditation process and public listing on its homologated schools page.
4. Member Services (DPO Insurance, Software, Library, Bookstore): APDADOS offers supplementary paid services to members including DPO insurance (via NV Seguros), LGPD software recommendations, an accredited school directory, a private chamber service, a Privacy Game, and a bookstore — some of which generate referral or affiliate revenue for the association.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

APDADOS is a Brazilian nonprofit professional association that sells annual committee memberships and specialized services to data privacy professionals. It operates six specialized committees (Público, Jurídico, Segurança, Científico, Governança, StarTech) and offers supplementary services including a scientific Software Verification Program for LGPD/GDPR compliance of tools, an accredited training centers directory, DPO insurance, a digital library, a bookstore, and a public LGPD Violations enforcement tracker.

Product overview

APDADOS is a professional association offering a platform of membership-based committees and specialized services for data privacy professionals. The core offerings include: the Software Verification Program (which certifies LGPD/GDPR compliance for software tools), the LGPD Violations Portal (public database of enforcement actions), and member committees (Público, Jurídico, Segurança, Científico, Governança, StarTech). Additional services include DPO insurance, an accredited training center directory, library, bookstore, private chamber, and educational privacy games. The association focuses on LGPD compliance verification and professional development in data protection.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Programa de Verificação de Softwares APDADOS (Software Verification Program)

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Privacy International: Privacy International is a UK-based nonprofit advocating for stronger data protection and surveillance reform. It overlaps thematically with APDADOS' Violações portal and consumer-rights framing of LGPD, but operates as an advocacy NGO rather than a professional membership association.

Emerging players

• OneTrust DataGuidance: OneTrust DataGuidance is a subscription regulatory intelligence platform for privacy and data protection professionals, covering LGPD alongside global regimes. It competes with APDADOS' Violações portal and pareceres técnicos as a paid intelligence source for the same practitioner persona, though delivered as a SaaS rather than an association.
• Future of Privacy Forum (FPF): FPF is a nonprofit think tank producing research, training, and policy output on data protection. It is comparable to APDADOS' Scientific Committee activity (pareceres técnicos, journal-published verification methodology) but serves a global audience and lacks a membership dues model.

Broad incumbents

• The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA): IIA is the global professional association for internal auditors (CIA certification), with a similar committee structure and annual dues model. Its GRC and risk-oriented membership base partially overlaps with APDADOS' Governança committee audience in Brazil.
• Centre for Information Policy Leadership (CIPL): CIPL is a global data protection policy think tank engaging regulators and policymakers on privacy frameworks. It overlaps with APDADOS' regulatory engagement work around LGPD/GDPR but operates at a higher policy-strategy level rather than as a professional membership body.

Direct peers

• ISACA: ISACA is a global professional association for IT governance, risk, and cybersecurity practitioners, structured around credentialed membership tiers (CISA, CISM, CRISC). It mirrors APDADOS' committee-based model (Governança, Segurança) and annual dues structure, serving a closely overlapping IT-GRC persona that APDADOS targets through its Governança committee.
• International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP): IAPP is the global membership and certification body for privacy professionals (CIPP/CIPM/CIPT). It is the most direct functional peer to APDADOS — both operate committee-based professional communities around data protection law, with membership dues and certification as core revenue. IAPP operates globally while APDADOS is Brazil-focused; their overlap is greatest on LGPD/GDPR practitioner communities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCpP45OyWgQHFukDkd7dnigg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/apdados
• Instagraminstagram.com/apdados

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about APDADOS - Associação Nacional dos Profissionais de Privacidade de Dados