Upod is not a short-term experiment or a new app trying to “disrupt” the web.
It is part of a movement that has been building for years.
Since 2022, the Personal Datastore Foundation (Stichting Nederlandse Datakluis) has been working on a simple but powerful idea: people should control their own personal data.
Not platforms.
Not advertisers.
Not Big Tech.
Upod is how we bring that idea to everyone.
Today’s internet asks too much of people. Every website wants your data. Every click is tracked.
Every choice is nudged. Over time, personal data has become something that is taken, stored, and traded, often without real understanding or control.
We believe this is not how the internet was meant to work.
A healthy internet should:
That’s what we’re rebuilding.
The Personal Datastore Foundation was created to explore a different future for the web.
Together with journalists, technologists, regulators, and public organisations, the foundation began developing personal online datastores (pod’s) based on Solid: secure spaces where individuals store their own data and decide how it is used, based on a protocol designed by the inventor of the web Tim Berners Lee.
This R&D was supported by European funding and partnerships with trusted organisations.
To prove that a better and economicly sustainable model is possible for both public and commercial use cases. The introduction of Upod is the next step: Turning that research into something simple, usable, and accessible for everyone.
Upod gives you:
You decide once, and your choice travels with you.
Websites get only what you allow them to see.
You stay anonymous.
Tracking becomes unnecessary.
This is not about hiding to avoid tracking: It’s about getting asked and you giving permission.
For too long, privacy has been framed as something negative:
We believe the opposite is true.
When people trust the system, everyone benefits:
Upod turns privacy into something practical, positive, and empowering.
This movement matters especially in Europe. We believe Europe can lead the way in showing that:
Upod is built on European values of fairness, transparency, and trust, and designed to work across borders, sectors, and platforms.
Upod is a tool. But the mission is much larger. It’s about:
That future won’t be built by one company alone. It will be built by people who choose differently in an ecosystem based on shared values.
By using Upod, you’re not just creating an account. You’re helping to shape a better internet.
One where:
Your data. Your choice.
This is Upod.
