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Factual is a platform where anyone can share and mash open data on any subject. For example, you might find a comprehensive directory of restaurants along with dozens of searchable attributes, a huge database of published books, or a list of every video game and their cheat codes. We provide smart tools to help the community build and maintain a trusted source of structured data.
Factual's key product, the Factual Table, provides a unique way to view and work with structured data. Information in Factual Tables comes from the wisdom of the community and from our powerful data mining tools, and the result is rich, dynamic, and transparent data.
Factual was founded by Gil Elbaz, who co-founded Applied Semantics in 1998. Applied Semantics was a leader in natural language solutions and developed the ASI AdSense contextual advertising platform. It was acquired by Google in 2003.
On the surface, Factual Tables are very much like relational database tables: they're organized into rows and columns, and you can apply basic operations, such as filters and joins, to them. But Factual Tables differ from database tables in one very important way: Each cell in a Factual Table can incorporate multiple inputs entered by users or extracted from the web. These inputs are used to establish a consensus value for the cell.
For example, a quick web search for "Napoleon height" returns two inconsistent answers: 5' 2" and 5' 6½". A Factual Table of the heights of historical figures would collect inputs on Napoleon's height from various sources, and the value displayed would be determined by the consensus function you select. You could learn more by clicking into the fact history to see all of the input values, plus the sources cited and comments entered by other users. Having this information at hand makes it easier for you to determine which value is correct, and why. (By the way, the most correct answer is 5' 6½". 5' 2" is from the French system, in which the unit of measurement is longer than an Imperial inch.)
Factual Tables make it easy to share data, and to collaborate with others on data projects you care about. Factual Tables bring together data from different sources, so that you can establish dependable facts and quickly identify areas of controversy. Data sources are clearly identified, so you know where your information comes from. Data stays current, since it's simple to edit individual data points or to upload new files. And our unique search tools can help you find new, relevant data on Factual and on the web. Finally, if you're a web publisher, embedded Factual Tables are a great way to bring engaging, interactive content to your readers.
Much of the information in Factual is directly contributed by our user community. In addition, Factual's staff works to upload facts from publicly available information sources, and we also have extraction tools that mine data from the web. We also accept data contributed by content partners, publishers, and developers.
The data in a Factual Table is a combination of user knowledge, facts extracted from the web, and other sources of data (e.g., government archives). Factual Tables are completely transparent: you can examine the sources and comments for each fact to assess the reliability of the data. And if you don't think a fact is correct, you can submit a correction.
Yes, you can embed a Factual Table on your website or blog, where it will be visible to everyone. You can also put links to Factual Tables on your website or in emails.
Yes, it's simple to publish any Factual Table on your website or blog. For more information, see our video tutorial on embedding Factual grids
Factual Tables are currently available without a fee for registered users. Over time as the product evolves, there may be features that are restricted to paid subscribers of Factual.
Here are some of the things you can do with Factual Tables:
Double-click in any cell to bring up the fact history for that data point. You can suggest a new value for a cell, cite a source to back up your suggestion, and add a comment for context.
Yes, one of the main reasons that we created Factual Tables is to make data transparent. You can double-click on a cell to view a summary of the information by users and drill down to view each individual's input. If any user cited a website as the source for their input, you can click a link to go to that website.
Try searching for some tables that interest you. Click around. Searching and browsing tables is unrestricted. However, some functionality may require you either register a Factual account, or use an OpenID loging. In particular:
To create a table, click the "Create Table" link in the upper left of the toolbar or, from within a Factual Table, use File -> New Table. You can upload data from a file on your computer, or paste data directly into a text box. You can also enter a URL for a data file (for example, a webpage ending in .csv), or for a webpage that contains data in an HTML table.
Once the data has been uploaded, you'll see a preview of your Factual Table. You can edit the Table's name, and provide a source and description. Click "Modify This Table's Structure" if you want to select a different subject, change the order of the columns, change the datatype of a column, etc. If you don't want your Table to be editable by others, or you don't want it to appear in search results, uncheck those options.
When creating tables from files you would like to upload to Factual, you can use the following types of file formats:
There are many different ways. You can:
Yes. Factual enables you to join rows from multiple tables together when values between each table can be matched together. In particular, Factual supports Primary key to primary key joins (two tables that share a lot of subjects), and joining Foreign keys to Primary keys.
There are a few ways to do this. The simplest way is to click on the column you want to use to join to data from another table and select the "find related data" option. Factual will give you a list of the fields you can add to your table from existing Factual tables. Alternately, if you want to join specific tables together, copy the URL of the table you want to join to the table you are currently browsing, then select the "Join other tables to this table" option from the "Improve" menu. Click on "Search for a Specific Table". Now paste the URL into the appropriate box and hit return. You can add any or all of the fields from the table you are joining to your current table. If you think any of the results of your join improves the quality of your table well enough that you'd like to preserve them, be sure to either "save" the table or create a new copy of the table using "save as".
Yes, you can close your account from the account settings page, but be aware that any contributions you have made to publicly accessible Factual tables will not be deleted.
When you create a Factual Table, you may delete it within 24 hours. Beyond that, your Factual Tables (and any data you contribute to Factual Tables created by others) cannot be deleted, even if you close your account.
Raw data, facts, and general ideas are not protected by copyright law. If you've legally gathered a bunch of data and post it to Factual, it is in most cases free for the world to use and build upon. If you'd like to place certain people's use of your data on certain conditions, or if you're contractually obligated (by someone who gave you the data) to display certain conditions, you should consider adding an enforceable terms and conditions to the table you contribute. Whether or not those terms are "enforceable" your responsibility; courts and lawyers often disagree on what makes online terms enforceable, so if you have questions you should consult a lawyer or a do-it-yourself legal resource.
Don't upload data that are confidential, restricted from publication by contract (e.g. your employment contract), or that you've obtained by illegal means (e.g. cracking a protected database). This would violate Factual's terms of service and could make you personally liable for any damages that result from your actions.
If you're thinking of uploading content (as opposed to raw data and facts) to Factual, consider that Factual is a data organization tool, not a content hosting service. Many of Factual's most exciting capabilities, like the mashing together and sorting of previously unrelated data sets, don't really make sense when applied to content. To the extent you do contribute original expression (as opposed to facts) to the site -- e.g., when you contribute editorial comments to certain data sets -- you can keep the copyright in your expression but understand that Factual and all of its users may make use of it under the Factual Terms of Service.
Finally, you should take the time to read the Factual Terms of Service. (Really!) They're human-friendly (as opposed to just lawyer-friendly) and very important to understand, as they lay out your rights, privileges, and responsibilities while using the site.
Pretty much! Most of the tables on Factual is free to re-use, analyze, download, manipulate, build upon, and mash with other tables. In some cases, whoever posted the table (including, in some cases, Factual itself!) may apply some special terms and conditions to govern your use -- because they're obligated by contract to other parties, or just because they want you to abide by certain uses. Where you see those special terms, it is your responsibility to abide by them. If you have any doubts or questions about it, consult a Factual discussion table or a legal resource or just turn to data that's free to use -- which, by default, most of the data on Factual is.
Finally, you should take the time to read the Factual Terms of Service. (Really!) They're human-friendly (as opposed to just lawyer-friendly) and very important to understand, as they lay out your rights, privileges, and responsibilities while using the site.
You may follow the DMCA take down process if you want to request your copyrighted material taken down.
Find a table that you would like to embed, and click the "Share/Publish" tab. At the bottom of the screen where it says "Embed this table in a web page," select the table size that you would like. Copy the code in the "Code" box and paste it into your website or blog.
You will need to paste the code as HTML. If you are using blog software or a content management system, look for a button that reads "HTML" or "Edit HTML."
Yes. You can configure the size and color scheme of an embedded Factual table. Embedded tables can also have some "sticky" presentation attributes such as sorts, filters, and hidden fields. More types of customization are in the works.
You can also manipulate and present Factual data however you like using our API.
You can click on the preview button to see precisely what it will look like before you embed it. The preview will reflect the dimensions, color theme, and content of the table as it will appear when embedded in another site.
Yes, you can embed as many tables on a page as you like.
Most of the tables on Factual is free to re-use, analyze, download, manipulate, build upon, and mash with other tables. In some cases, whoever posted the table (including, in some cases, Factual itself!) may apply some special terms and conditions to govern your use -- because they're obligated by contract to other parties, or just because they want you to abide by certain uses. Where you see those special terms, it is your responsibility to abide by them. If you have any doubts or questions about it, consult a Factual discussion table or a legal resource or just turn to data that's free to use -- which, by default, most of the data on Factual is.
Yes. All contributions made by users on any website via the Factual embeddable table will be visible on the one embedded on your site.
We do not offer platform-specific tools at this time.
Yes. Users will be able to click in a cell and see the fact history for that data. They will also be able to contribute new information by logging in using OpenID or using an existing Factual account.
Yes. However, once you have opened a table to public contributions, you may no longer restrict users from updating it.
Anyone can embed a public table that is on Factual.com -- almost all the data is available for syndication (unless otherwise specified by the owner of the data). If we take down a table for any reason, it will automatically be disabled on your site and on all sites it is embedded on.
Factual supports API access to our data. Please view our Developer FAQ for more information.
You may reproduce, distribute, modify, and manipulate or build upon data publicly available on Factual, subject to the Factual Terms of Use .
No. Right now, all data crowdsourced through an embedded Factual Table will be available publicly for anyone to use.
Embedded Factual tables contain SEO friendly information about the subject matter of the table that is contained on your page that should help search engines realize what kind of data you have embedded on your site.
Your readers will be able to view Factual Tables without logging in. If they wish to contribute to a Factual Table, they will need to log in with either an OpenID account from Google or Yahoo or an existing Factual account.
No. Factual Tables are available to you at no cost, but with no guarantees. (However, if you plan to use embedded tables on a large scale and would like to discuss an SLA please email us .)
You can try the developer forums to see if users in the community have stumbled on the similar issues.
No. All Factual Tables are free for you to use.
Yes. There are details on creating your own tables in our how to video on creating tables.
Use the "Search" box in the upper right corner of Factual.com to search for tables that match your interest.
If you have an existing table, Factual can recommend additional data that you might find interesting. In the options menu for any column, select "Find Related Data" to have Factual suggest data that might make an interesting addition to your table. For example, if you were to search for "related data" on a field named "Zip Code", there's a good chance Factual can provide you with the City and State fields.
You can access our terms on the Terms of Use .
There is currently no way for us to help you monetize these tables.
While it depends on how much data you are using from Factual, we are building intuitive tools that will make the process of moderating and curating data on the embedded tables easy and manageable.
While Factual has unique tools to improve the quality of the data over time, we cannot guarantee any data table will be 100% comprehensive and accurate. We hope that with the help of the community and our powerful extraction, inferencing, and curation tools, our data will become better and more reliable over time.