Verb Launches Marketplace That Lets Consumers Sell Their Personal Data
Verb has launched a marketplace that lets consumers sell selected personal data, testing whether users will trade privacy for direct payment. The post Verb Launches Marketplace That Lets Consumers Sell Their Personal Data appeared first on TechRepublic .
Verb, a data exchange company, has launched a marketplace enabling consumers to sell their personal data directly to companies, including AI labs. This move aims to shift the balance of power in the data economy, allowing users to monetize their privacy for payment rather than freely surrendering it. CEO Cyrus Beschloss told Axios, "People will go to monetize something that for decades we’ve given away for free."
To participate, users must install the Verb tracker on their phones, which collects selected activity like shopping habits and social media use. Users can choose to exclude certain categories from data collection and set their own prices based on the quantity of shared information. Any company can purchase this data, though users have the option to block specific buyers.
The platform hopes to tap into demand from AI companies, which need vast amounts of training data to develop capable models. Verb sees potential in creating a new asset class, though challenges remain in convincing consumers to prioritize data privacy over convenience. Verb assures users that sensitive categories like passwords, text messages, and health data are excluded from the analysis.
However, security risks persist, and the company acknowledges the possibility of data breaches, emphasizing the importance of data safety. Verb's success hinges on whether consumers view personal data as a commodity worth trading, potentially reshaping the economics of AI development while increasing the incentive to share more data.
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