Frequently Asked Questions

No. You see cookie banners everywhere, all the time. One small change and a website has to show you that banner all over again. Upod works completely differently. You set your preferences once. After that, you don't see a cookie banner on connected websites anymore. Do you also have the Upod extension in your browser? Then it automatically uses those same preferences to fill in every cookie banner you come across.

No. Upod doesn't block anything. It applies the preferences you've set, whether that means accepting cookies or not. Websites are still legally required to ask for consent; Upod answers that question on your behalf, based on what you've decided.

Stichting Nederlandse Datakluis is an independent Dutch foundation that stores and manages the contents of your Upod. The data in your Upod is yours. You decide what's stored and what you show to which website. Your data is never sold and is never shared unless you've decided so yourself.

An email address, to create your account and for communication. And a password. That's all. With Upod, you decide for yourself which data you show to websites. You stay anonymous, but you still get content that's tailored to you. To benefit from that, you build your own data profile with, for example, your age and town, your favourite brands, and your clothing and shoe sizes. That means less searching on websites, while those websites aren't allowed to store, copy or resell any of your data. You decide entirely for yourself what you show, and your data stays yours. As it should be.

Upod is always free for you. Utonomy, the company behind Upod, makes money by giving websites and partners access to your Upod through the smart software they've developed. That software shows exactly the data you've chosen, for the purpose you've decided. Utonomy's mission is to show that companies can get value from data without storing that data themselves and without violating your privacy. That's what Upod was built for. Utonomy works closely with Stichting Nederlandse Datakluis, which stores the data in a secure location in the Netherlands and protects your privacy. That way, Utonomy can earn money from Upod without your data ever being sold, shared, or otherwise exploited.

Your data lives on secure Dutch infrastructure, managed by Stichting Nederlandse Datakluis. In Upod, you set which website may see which data, for which purpose. Utonomy and Stichting Nederlandse Datakluis have legally established that websites may not use the data for anything other than the purpose you've made it available for. The data may not be stored by the website or app in profiles. If a website or app doesn't stick to these rules, it can face a fine. The Upod software also runs on secure cloud infrastructure in France and the Netherlands, deliberately kept separate from where the data itself lives.

Your data is encrypted, both in transit and at rest. Logging in is deliberately kept separate from where your data lives. Nothing digital is 100% secure, just as nothing in the real world is, but the infrastructure is tested and audited regularly, and we do everything we can to keep your data safe.

No. Your email address or other identifying details are never shown to connected websites. Your data is pseudonymised before it's shared: your date of birth becomes an age category, and your town becomes a region if that place is too small to keep you unidentifiable. You decide, per website, what gets shown at all. On some websites, you can choose to identify yourself, for example by sharing your delivery address when shopping, or by making your date of birth visible if there's a good reason for it. To be allowed to ask you for this kind of data, a website has to sign a special contract with extra strict rules attached.

Any time, from your account settings on upod.eu. You can delete your account together with your data, or close your account while keeping your data, so you can keep using it with another service that uses a Solid pod, the technical name for the data storage Stichting Nederlandse Datakluis keeps the contents of your Upod in. That means you can also use that content with other providers that support the Solid protocol. Want to know more about Solid? Go to solidproject.org.

Yes. Upod is growing fast. The more websites join, the more useful Upod becomes for you, and the more attractive it becomes for new partners to join too. Check the homepage for the current list of connected websites.

Upod is still in its early days. Right now you can fill in a basic profile (gender, age category, town) and a shopping profile. More profiles and data types are being added step by step.

A built-in export feature is on the roadmap. Until then, you can request an export directly, and you'll receive your data in a portable format, in line with your GDPR right to data portability.

Upod stands for "your personal online data vault." "Pod" is a term coined by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, for the open Solid standard behind personal data vaults. Your Upod is your own pod, managed by Stichting Nederlandse Datakluis. Because your pod runs on the Solid protocol, you can use it in other places too. Right now, though, you can't yet find the address of your personal pod, your Web-ID. We plan to support that in the future, for people who want to use their pod elsewhere too.

Yes, of course. If you choose to delete your account, we will permanently remove your personal online data store and all your data. You can do so by going to you Upod account and in the settings menu choose “delete account”. Follow the steps and you will be able to delete your account. If possible, we’d appreciate it if you could let us know why you’re deleting your account, your feedback helps us improve. You can also share your feedback via the feedback form.

Upod is your personal online data profile. It's where you store your personal data, things like your gender, age category and location. You decide which websites can see it, and only while you're visiting. Your personal data is never stored, sold or shared with third parties.

Your Upod holds your personal data, things like your gender, age category and location. You choose what each website can see, and in return that website shows you relevant ads and articles. Your personal data is never stored, sold or shared with third parties.

Yes, Upod is free and will always stay that way. Connected websites pay to access the personal data you've chosen to share. Your personal data is never stored, sold or shared with third parties.

When you accept cookies, websites collect data about you and track what you click, read and buy. With Upod, you choose what each website can see. Your name and email address are never visible, so websites never know who you are. Connected websites can never store, sell or share your personal data with third parties.

You decide what each website can see. Your name and email address are never shown, so websites never know who you are. We turn your date of birth into an age category, and if you live in a smaller town, we'll broaden your location to a region. The profile you share simply isn't enough to identify you.

Upod runs on Solid, the internet protocol that gives people control over their own data. Your Upod is stored on European Scaleway servers in the Netherlands. It has three parts: a single login for all connected sites, your personal online data profile where you keep your personal data, and a dashboard where you choose what each site can see.

Upod is built to keep your personal data safe. We use proven technology and regularly test and audit our infrastructure. Your personal data is kept completely separate from your login details, so your Upod can never be traced back to you. Your data is stored on Scaleway servers in the Netherlands.

You can update or withdraw your consent at any time. The moment you do, that website loses access to your personal data immediately.

Right now, your Upod holds three things: your gender, age category and location. We ask for your date of birth to work out your age category, but your exact date of birth is never visible. If you live in a smaller town, we'll broaden your location to a region. Over time, you'll be able to add more and new profiles will become available.

Just your email address and a password, so you can log in and we can send you important updates. Your email address is never part of your Upod, so connected websites never see it. Everything else is yours to add, and yours to share or keep private.

Upod already works with major Dutch media partners. The network of connected sites is growing fast, and we'll keep you updated through your Upod account.

Upod is currently working on technology that will make cookie banners a thing of the past. We're almost there.

Yes. Upod works independently of your existing accounts.

A password manager stores login details for different websites. Those websites each store your data separately, including your email address, which increases the risk of data leaks. With Upod you log in to all connected websites with one account. Those websites never read your name or email address, only your gender, age category and location, and are not allowed to store or share this.

Most people have hundreds of accounts across different websites. All those websites store your email address and personal data, and often share it with third parties. This increases the risk of data leaks. With Upod you have just one account and your data is stored in one secure place. Websites never see your email address. This means you face far less risk.

Yes. Go to your Upod settings and choose 'Delete account'. We will then delete your personal online data profile and all your data.