lockr Raises $2.5 Million to Help Consumers Take Control of their Digital Identity

lockr preserves open access to information across the internet while honoring consumer privacy and choice

lockr, the first consumer-focused platform for digital identity, consent and data, has raised $2.5M in pre-seed funding. Mozilla Ventures, Junction Venture Partners, and Grit Capital Partners participated, along with individuals from the digital publishing and data industries.

Founded by Keith Petri, an experienced data management executive with two prior 8-figure exits, lockr offers a variety of tools that enable consumers to take control of their personal identity and data. lockr partners with both publishers and brands to maintain the economics of the advertising-supported internet with a privacy-safe, consumer-driven solution. The company launched in 2021 and is dedicated to helping these partners collect authenticated first-party data with transparent consumer consent through its Identity lockr product.

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“lockr is the first consumer-focused platform for identity, consent and data.”

“After having spent a decade in digital advertising tracking consumers behavior and building consumer profiles for some of the world’s largest brands, I am taking my experience and knowledge and applying that to empower consumers to control their online profiles,” said Keith Petri, CEO of lockr. “We are leveraging new regulations and shifts in the underbelly of the internet to give the average user a seat at the table.”

Publishers and brands increasingly rely on email to connect with customers, while those same customers struggle with overflowing inboxes. lockr provides solutions for both. For consumers, lockr’s first product is lockrMail, a persistent email address that gives users full control over their inbox by forwarding messages to their real email – with both allow and block capabilities, patent-pending automated filters, custom digests, and more. On the business side, Identity lockr is a consumer-consented identity solution that offers free email verification for publishers and brands. By validating email at the point of collection, businesses are able to maintain a complete profile of consumers while respecting their inbox preferences.

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“Mozilla Ventures is incredibly excited to invest in lockr, a company that provides users with more granular control over how their identity is managed online. Keith and his team impressed us with their strong vision and thoughtful approach to product development,” said Mohamed Nanabhay, Managing Partner of Mozilla Ventures. “We believe that lockr will not only enhance user privacy but also increase user agency. We are thrilled to be a part of the journey.”

To complement both sides of its business, lockr offers a convenient single-sign-on service that empowers users with a fully transparent way to consent to data-sharing within lockr’s Publisher Network. As lockr expands its publisher partnerships, lockrMail users will be able to seamlessly access content across the web without compromising the sanity of their inbox and while maintaining control over their data consent on a per-company basis.

lockr will use this funding to scale its team, expand the Identity lockr’s Publisher Network, and build new consumer tools essential to the management of a user’s digital footprint.