Principal Activities and Organization	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Principal activities and organization	1. Principal activities and organization (a) Principal activities Cogint, Inc. (“we,” “us,” “our,” “cogint,” or the “Company”), a Delaware corporation, is a data and analytics company providing cloud-based mission-critical information and performance marketing solutions to enterprises in a variety of industries. Our mission is to transform data into intelligence utilizing our proprietary technology platforms to solve complex problems for our clients. Harnessing the power of data fusion and powerful analytics, we transform data into intelligence, in a fast and efficient manner, so that our clients can spend their time on what matters most, running their organizations with confidence. Through our intelligent platforms, CORE™ and Agile Audience Engine™, we uncover the relevance of disparate data points to deliver end-to-end, ROI-driven results for our customers. Our analytical capabilities enable us to build comprehensive datasets in real-time and provide insightful views of people, businesses, assets and their interrelationships. We empower clients across markets and industries to better execute all aspects of their business, from managing risk, identifying fraud and abuse, ensuring legislative compliance, and debt recovery, to identifying and acquiring new customers. With the goal of reducing the cost of doing business and enhancing the consumer experience, our solutions enable our clients to optimize overall decision-making and to have a holistic view of their customers. We provide unique and compelling solutions essential to the daily workflow of organizations within both the public and private sectors. Our cloud-based data fusion and customer acquisition technology platforms, combined with our massive database consisting of public-record, proprietary and publicly- available data, as well as a unique repository of self-reported information on millions of consumers, enables the delivery of differentiated products and solutions used for a variety of essential functions. These essential functions include identification and authentication, investigation and validation, and customer acquisition and retention. The Company operates through two reportable segments: (i) Information Services and (ii) Performance Marketing. (b) Organization Tiger Media Previously, we provided advertising services in the out-of-home advertising industry in China under the name Tiger Media, Inc. (“Tiger Media”), a Cayman Islands exempted company. On June 30, 2015, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the plan to discontinue its Advertising Business (defined below). In 2015, the Company disposed of all assets and liabilities related to its Advertising Business. TBO The Best One, Inc. (“TBO”), now known as IDI Holdings (defined below), is a holding company incorporated on September 22, 2014 in the State of Florida, which was formed to be engaged in the acquisition of operating businesses and the acquisition and development of valuable and proprietary technology assets across various industries. On October 2, 2014, TBO acquired 100% of the membership interests of Interactive Data, LLC (“Interactive Data”), a Georgia limited liability company and Interactive Data became a wholly-owned subsidiary of TBO (“Interactive Data Acquisition”). Interactive Data is a data solutions provider, historically delivering data products and services to the Accounts Receivable Management industry for location and identity verification, legislative compliance and debt recovery. TBO Merger with Tiger Media On March 21, 2015 (the “Effective Date of TBO Merger”), Tiger Media and TBO Acquisition, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tiger Media (“TBO Merger Sub”), completed a merger (the “TBO Merger”) with TBO, pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement and Plan of Reorganization, as amended (the “TBO Merger Agreement”) dated as of December 14, 2014. Before the TBO Merger, on March 19, 2015, Tiger Media effected a one-for-five reverse stock split (the “Reverse Split”). The principal effect of the Reverse Split was to decrease the number of outstanding shares of each of Tiger Media’s ordinary shares. Except for de minimus adjustments for the treatment of fractional shares, the Reverse Split did not have any dilutive effect on Tiger Media shareholders and the relative voting and other rights that accompany the shares were not affected by the Reverse Split. In addition, the proportion of shares owned by shareholders relative to the number of shares authorized for issuance remained the same because the authorized number of shares was decreased in proportion to the Reverse Split from 1,000,000,000 shares to 200,000,000 shares. The authorized number of preferred shares was not affected by the Reverse Split and remained at 10,000,000. Also before the TBO Merger, on March 20, 2015, Tiger Media completed its domestication from the Cayman Islands to Delaware as a Delaware corporation (the “Domestication”). Following the Domestication and the Reverse Split, on March 21, 2015, TBO merged into TBO Merger Sub, with TBO Merger Sub continuing as the surviving company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tiger Media. On April 8, 2015, TBO Merger Sub’s entity name was changed to IDI Holdings, LLC (“IDI Holdings”), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. For accounting purposes, the Company recognized the TBO Merger in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 805-40, “Reverse Acquisitions.” Accordingly, the Company has been recognized as the accounting acquiree in the TBO Merger, with IDI Holdings being the accounting acquirer, and the Company’s consolidated financial statements for the reporting periods from January 1, 2015 through March 21, 2015 being those of IDI Holdings, rather than those of the Company. The Company’s consolidated financial statements for the periods since March 22, 2015, the day after which the TBO Merger was consummated, recognize Tiger Media and IDI Holdings as a consolidated group for accounting and reporting purposes, albeit with a carryover capital structure inherited from Tiger Media (attributable to the legal structure of the transaction). On April 30, 2015, Tiger Media changed its name to IDI, Inc., and on September 26, 2016, IDI, Inc changed its name to Cogint, Inc. Disposal of Advertising Business As a result of the TBO Merger, and although it was the Company’s intention to continue to operate and further develop its Advertising Business (as defined below) both in China and the United States as of the Effective Date of TBO Merger, on June 30, 2015, in connection with the continuing shift in the Company’s focus towards the data fusion industry via its consolidated subsidiaries, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a plan under which the Company discontinued the operations of its Chinese and British Virgin Islands based subsidiaries (collectively, the “Advertising Business”). The purpose of the plan was to focus the Company’s resources on the data fusion industry, where the Company believes the opportunities for future growth are substantially greater. Additionally, due to the continuing negative cash flow from operations of the Advertising Business, the Company elected not to invest further in this business. As of December 31, 2015, the Company had disposed of all assets and liabilities related to its Advertising Business. Fluent Acquisition On December 8, 2015 (the “Effective Date of Fluent Acquisition”), the Company completed the acquisition of Fluent Inc (the “Fluent Acquisition”), pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Fluent Merger Agreement”) entered into on November 16, 2015. On December 9, 2015, Fluent Acquisition II, LLC, the surviving entity during the Fluent Acquisition, changed its name to Fluent, LLC (“Fluent”). The Company is the legal and accounting acquirer of the Fluent Acquisition. Fluent is a leader in people-based digital marketing and customer acquisition. Q Interactive Acquisition On June 8, 2016 (the “Effective Date of Q Interactive Acquisition”), the Company completed the acquisition of Q Interactive, LLC (“Q Interactive”) (the “Q Interactive Acquisition”), pursuant to a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement with Selling Source, LLC (“Selling Source”), the seller, pursuant to which the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding membership interests in Q Interactive. Q Interactive, a Delaware limited liability company, provides performance based digital marketing solutions for advertisers and publishers. During the first quarter of 2017, Q Interactive’s business was merged and fully integrated into Fluent, as a result of the Q Interactive Integration, as defined in Note 4, “Acquisitions.” Q Interactive became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fluent. Refer to Note 4, “Acquisitions,” and Note 5, “Discontinued Operations,” to the consolidated financial statements for the details of the acquisitions and disposal of Advertising Business, respectively. All share data have been retroactively restated to reflect cogint’s one-for-five Reverse Split, which was effective on March 19, 2015, as discussed above.

1. Principal activities and organization

(a) Principal activities

Cogint, Inc. (“we,” “us,” “our,” “cogint,” or the “Company”), a Delaware corporation, is a data and analytics company providing cloud-based mission-critical information and performance marketing solutions to enterprises in a variety of industries. Our mission is to transform data into intelligence utilizing our proprietary technology platforms to solve complex problems for our clients. Harnessing the power of data fusion and powerful analytics, we transform data into intelligence, in a fast and efficient manner, so that our clients can spend their time on what matters most, running their organizations with confidence. Through our intelligent platforms, CORE™ and Agile Audience Engine™, we uncover the relevance of disparate data points to deliver end-to-end, ROI-driven results for our customers. Our analytical capabilities enable us to build comprehensive datasets in real-time and provide insightful views of people, businesses, assets and their interrelationships. We empower clients across markets and industries to better execute all aspects of their business, from managing risk, identifying fraud and abuse, ensuring legislative compliance, and debt recovery, to identifying and acquiring new customers. With the goal of reducing the cost of doing business and enhancing the consumer experience, our solutions enable our clients to optimize overall decision-making and to have a holistic view of their customers.

We provide unique and compelling solutions essential to the daily workflow of organizations within both the public and private sectors. Our cloud-based data fusion and customer acquisition technology platforms, combined with our massive database consisting of public-record, proprietary and publicly- available data, as well as a unique repository of self-reported information on millions of consumers, enables the delivery of differentiated products and solutions used for a variety of essential functions. These essential functions include identification and authentication, investigation and validation, and customer acquisition and retention. The Company operates through two reportable segments: (i) Information Services and (ii) Performance Marketing.

(b) Organization

Tiger Media

Previously, we provided advertising services in the out-of-home advertising industry in China under the name Tiger Media, Inc. (“Tiger Media”), a Cayman Islands exempted company. On June 30, 2015, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the plan to discontinue its Advertising Business (defined below). In 2015, the Company disposed of all assets and liabilities related to its Advertising Business.

TBO

The Best One, Inc. (“TBO”), now known as IDI Holdings (defined below), is a holding company incorporated on September 22, 2014 in the State of Florida, which was formed to be engaged in the acquisition of operating businesses and the acquisition and development of valuable and proprietary technology assets across various industries. On October 2, 2014, TBO acquired 100% of the membership interests of Interactive Data, LLC (“Interactive Data”), a Georgia limited liability company and Interactive Data became a wholly-owned subsidiary of TBO (“Interactive Data Acquisition”). Interactive Data is a data solutions provider, historically delivering data products and services to the Accounts Receivable Management industry for location and identity verification, legislative compliance and debt recovery.

TBO Merger with Tiger Media

On March 21, 2015 (the “Effective Date of TBO Merger”), Tiger Media and TBO Acquisition, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tiger Media (“TBO Merger Sub”), completed a merger (the “TBO Merger”) with TBO, pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement and Plan of Reorganization, as amended (the “TBO Merger Agreement”) dated as of December 14, 2014.

Before the TBO Merger, on March 19, 2015, Tiger Media effected a one-for-five reverse stock split (the “Reverse Split”). The principal effect of the Reverse Split was to decrease the number of outstanding shares of each of Tiger Media’s ordinary shares. Except for de minimus adjustments for the treatment of fractional shares, the Reverse Split did not have any dilutive effect on Tiger Media shareholders and the relative voting and other rights that accompany the shares were not affected by the Reverse Split. In addition, the proportion of shares owned by shareholders relative to the number of shares authorized for issuance remained the same because the authorized number of shares was decreased in proportion to the Reverse Split from 1,000,000,000 shares to 200,000,000 shares. The authorized number of preferred shares was not affected by the Reverse Split and remained at 10,000,000. Also before the TBO Merger, on March 20, 2015, Tiger Media completed its domestication from the Cayman Islands to Delaware as a Delaware corporation (the “Domestication”). Following the Domestication and the Reverse Split, on March 21, 2015, TBO merged into TBO Merger Sub, with TBO Merger Sub continuing as the surviving company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tiger Media. On April 8, 2015, TBO Merger Sub’s entity name was changed to IDI Holdings, LLC (“IDI Holdings”), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.

For accounting purposes, the Company recognized the TBO Merger in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 805-40, “Reverse Acquisitions.” Accordingly, the Company has been recognized as the accounting acquiree in the TBO Merger, with IDI Holdings being the accounting acquirer, and the Company’s consolidated financial statements for the reporting periods from January 1, 2015 through March 21, 2015 being those of IDI Holdings, rather than those of the Company. The Company’s consolidated financial statements for the periods since March 22, 2015, the day after which the TBO Merger was consummated, recognize Tiger Media and IDI Holdings as a consolidated group for accounting and reporting purposes, albeit with a carryover capital structure inherited from Tiger Media (attributable to the legal structure of the transaction).

On April 30, 2015, Tiger Media changed its name to IDI, Inc., and on September 26, 2016, IDI, Inc changed its name to Cogint, Inc.

Disposal of Advertising Business

As a result of the TBO Merger, and although it was the Company’s intention to continue to operate and further develop its Advertising Business (as defined below) both in China and the United States as of the Effective Date of TBO Merger, on June 30, 2015, in connection with the continuing shift in the Company’s focus towards the data fusion industry via its consolidated subsidiaries, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a plan under which the Company discontinued the operations of its Chinese and British Virgin Islands based subsidiaries (collectively, the “Advertising Business”). The purpose of the plan was to focus the Company’s resources on the data fusion industry, where the Company believes the opportunities for future growth are substantially greater. Additionally, due to the continuing negative cash flow from operations of the Advertising Business, the Company elected not to invest further in this business. As of December 31, 2015, the Company had disposed of all assets and liabilities related to its Advertising Business.

Fluent Acquisition

On December 8, 2015 (the “Effective Date of Fluent Acquisition”), the Company completed the acquisition of Fluent Inc (the “Fluent Acquisition”), pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Fluent Merger Agreement”) entered into on November 16, 2015. On December 9, 2015, Fluent Acquisition II, LLC, the surviving entity during the Fluent Acquisition, changed its name to Fluent, LLC (“Fluent”). The Company is the legal and accounting acquirer of the Fluent Acquisition. Fluent is a leader in people-based digital marketing and customer acquisition.

Q Interactive Acquisition

On June 8, 2016 (the “Effective Date of Q Interactive Acquisition”), the Company completed the acquisition of Q Interactive, LLC (“Q Interactive”) (the “Q Interactive Acquisition”), pursuant to a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement with Selling Source, LLC (“Selling Source”), the seller, pursuant to which the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding membership interests in Q Interactive. Q Interactive, a Delaware limited liability company, provides performance based digital marketing solutions for advertisers and publishers.

During the first quarter of 2017, Q Interactive’s business was merged and fully integrated into Fluent, as a result of the Q Interactive Integration, as defined in Note 4, “Acquisitions.” Q Interactive became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fluent.

Refer to Note 4, “Acquisitions,” and Note 5, “Discontinued Operations,” to the consolidated financial statements for the details of the acquisitions and disposal of Advertising Business, respectively.

All share data have been retroactively restated to reflect cogint’s one-for-five Reverse Split, which was effective on March 19, 2015, as discussed above.