Updated October 2026
Mode data licensing review
Mode buys a copy of a company's old email, documents, chat and business records, strips out names and sensitive details, and resells that copy for AI training, while you keep your originals. It says a company's data could be worth $100K-$5M, and its bar is unusually low for law and accounting firms. Mode is a consumer app company that launched this program on 2026-10-13.1,2,3,4
Its own pages give two timelines: payment in about 60 days after acceptance, or about three months overall.5
Key facts
Mode in its own words and others'
| Fact | Value and source |
|---|---|
| Mode payout claim | "Your company's data could be worth $100K-$5M"; its calculator is indicative only, subject to a full review |
| Who Mode takes | Most businesses or nonprofits need 20+ full-time US office employees; accounting firms 10+ and law firms 6+; several years of records they own |
| How Mode buys | Buys an agreed copy of the records directly, charges no broker fee, and resells the filtered copy for AI research and training; the company keeps its originals |
| Mode timeline | A 14-day nonbinding letter of intent holds the estimate while Mode reviews the data; after acceptance it collects and scrubs the data over 15 to 30 days; payment expected within about 60 days |
| Who Mode is | Mode.Inc, a consumer app company led by co-founder and CEO Dan Novaes, whose apps pay users for activity; it launched the company data program as BizBuyData.com on 2026-10-13 |
Do we qualify?
Who Mode takes
Most businesses and nonprofits need 20 or more full-time US office staff and several years of records they own. Accounting firms qualify from 10 employees and law firms from six, because, Mode says, AI labs are giving priority to legal and accounting data. That is the lowest stated floor we have seen for professional firms; most buyers want 20 to 30 or more staff.3,6,7,8
It takes email and calendars, documents, chat, recorded calls, CRM and billing records, from tools such as Gmail, Outlook, Drive, Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoom, QuickBooks and ServiceTitan.9
What could it pay?
What Mode says and how it sets the price
Mode says a company's data could be worth $100K-$5M, which is its own claim. Its calculator is indicative only, and the fixed offer comes after it reviews the systems and dates in scope, years of history, record volume and quality, and your ownership and access terms. It buys the copy directly and says it charges no broker fee.2,1
How long until paid?
About two to three months
After an initial estimate, a 14-day letter of intent, which does not bind you, holds that number while Mode reviews the data. Once you accept the final offer, it collects and scrubs the data over 15 to 30 days, and its launch release says payment is expected within about 60 days. Its own FAQ puts the whole process at about three months from first conversation to payment, so plan on the longer figure.5
The work on your side is a few hours: describing the business, approving the scope and terms, and signing in to the approved systems. You never hand over passwords.10,11
Will clients' names go out?
How Mode handles your records
You agree the systems and date ranges before anything is exported. Mode works in a secure workspace, removes sensitive material, and removes or swaps names and contact details before the copy goes on for AI training. Your agreement sets the scope and any exclusivity. Mode says it does not publish your records or sell them as a report about your company.11,1
Who is Mode?
A consumer app company moving into business data
Mode.Inc, led by co-founder and CEO Dan Novaes, runs apps that pay people for everyday phone activity. Business Insider reported it was founded in 2019 and has raised over $80 million through crowdfunding, and that Novaes plans to take it public. Its sites invite the public to buy shares, and give its capital raised as $100M on one page and $120M+ on another.4,12
Next step
Should your firm talk to Mode?
If you run a small law or accounting firm, Mode is one of the few buyers open to you: it takes law firms from six staff and accounting firms from 10, where most buyers stop at 20 or more. Other businesses need 20+ full-time US office staff. Because the process can run about three months, take our match first: it checks your firm against Mode and the other buyers we work with, so you know every buyer open to you before you commit to one.3,5
Check first
How to check Mode, or any buyer
The same checks for every company we profile. We state facts; you decide.
- 1.Find the company behind the ad: a legal name, a registered address and named people.
- 2.Ask for a written offer and a sample agreement before you send any data.
- 3.Ask who removes personal data, by what method, and approve it before anything is exported.
- 4.Ask which AI labs will receive the data, and whether you will be told.
- 5.Ask how they are paid: by you, by the buyer, or from a share of your deal.
- 6.Get terms from at least one other buyer before you answer.
FAQ
Questions, answered with sources
It says a company's data could be worth $100K-$5M. That is its own claim; the fixed offer comes after it reviews your systems, history and records.2
Yes, by its own rules: law firms qualify from six employees and accounting firms from 10. Other businesses need 20+ full-time US office staff.3
Its release says payment is expected within about 60 days of accepting the offer; its FAQ says about three months from the first conversation.5
It says it buys the copy directly and charges no broker fee.1
Mode says you keep your original records and systems; it buys an agreed, filtered copy, and the agreement sets its scope and any exclusivity.1
Yes. Mode.Inc runs consumer apps that pay users for activity, and launched this business data program in October 2026.4
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
- Is the copy licensed or sold outright, and is it exclusive?
- Do customer, vendor or platform contracts, NDAs or API terms restrict this?
- Could the data include privileged material or trade secrets?
- Do professional rules apply (AICPA, IRC 7216, HIPAA, ABA Model Rule 1.17, insurance agency contracts, adviser rules, state boards)?
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?