This post contains affiliate links. If I don't mention this part, the FTC will probably come after me like an IRS agent.
It's problematic that our data is part of a $260 billion (USD) industry.
They won't give us a cut since we're voluntarily giving away our personal information for free.
We continue skipping pages of the user agreement and clicking "I agree" for convenience so we can immediately use a company's services.
And what do we get in return?
Big tech companies are cyberstalking us.
They collect and sell our data to various companies and brokers to give us targeted ads and personalized recommendations.
That's not even the worse part.
They're even collecting data about our health and selling it to hospitals, which is supposed to be confidential and also illegal.
Data about our health is the one thing we can't change about ourselves.
It's worth at least 10 times more than our social security numbers by cybercriminals. It's complete identity theft.
While I can't make all your online data yours again, I can help you get a portion of your cut from the existing data with the options to sell it or not.
I will be going through with you what these 16 services / mobile apps offer for you in detail and how you'll be able to get paid for selling your personal data.
I will also provide you with 3 other decentralized services, making it a total of 19, which offer many advantages over the 16 other services.
16 Services / Mobile Apps Paying You for Your Data
3 Decentralized Services Paying You for Your Data
There is a link to part 2 of this post by clicking here and again at the end of this post.
Note: If this post hasn't been updated in a while, it likely means I have trouble saving it because it's extremely long.
(Available for Windows and MacOS [US only], Android (available internationally in countries where PayPal is supported)
Cocoon MDR Browser is built on Chromium, an open-sourced, bare-bones version of Google Chrome, without it taking so much memory.
You'll love that this browser is a legitimate source for getting paid for personal data.
I believe you will get value for your data and anonymity as you get paid.
If you're looking at something inappropriate (18+), you won't have to worry about it. Cocoon anonymizes all that data, so you're all set to browse safely!
So stop browsing the internet when Big Tech companies are tracking you everywhere with personalized ads. Start using Cocoon MDR Browser instead!
Pros:
Built-in antivirus using patent-pending, advanced isolation technology
Uses 2048-bit encrypted servers so the data you create in this browser doesn't trace back to you while being secure
Your personal identity is masked by their servers: IP Address, cookies, browser type, etc.
Using this browser will automatically tell websites you are located in the US regardless of which country you are in (except China due to their US proxy servers
International users can get paid for using Cocoon's mobile app and get properly compensated for your geolocation
Not a memory (RAM) eater like Google Chrome
Cons:
Currently using a previous build of Chromium instead of an up-to-date version
Some Chrome extensions will not be compatible
Some websites will have issues with functionality such as videos due to lack of certain plugins that aren't included in Cocoon
Using a VPN will disable your earnings until you disable your VPN
Withdrawal to PayPal is subject to a 3% fee regardless of using the automatic 3-month withdrawal or not despite their claim of free automatic withdrawals
Earnings have declined within a year during 2020.
~6000 page views used to give out approximately $25 (see picture below)
Now it costs around $10 for 150000+ page views in 2021
Possible for you to get flagged for unusual activity for any unknown reason or no reason at all and have your earnings suspended (like I did while using it normally)
The Review:
I find Cocoon to be a decent browser. You can still earn money off your data through desktop or Android but it's not worth as much now compared to early 2020.
Definitely not showing you my testimonial since my mostly hidden email can be easily identifiable.
What earning in Cocoon MDR used to look like in early 2020
The amount of page views used to earn you that much money in early 2020.
That is not the case in 2021 now that earnings have been reduced by approximately 80-85%.
I don’t actively use it anymore because they kept using an outdated version of Chromium. This prevented me from using specific Chrome extensions, which gave me a bit of an unpleasant experience from it.
Plus, my account got permanently banned despite not violating their terms of service. I checked on it October 2022 after not using it for over a year, since my earnings were suspended for a month due to “suspicious activity.”
I was using it every day without a VPN at the time, so I don’t know what got flagged for suspicion.
It’s whatever to me at this point, since there are other activities that could earn me more money in a month than this.
For a more decentralized option, I highly recommend scrolling down to the Swash App.
([Web3] Currently unusable due to the re-branding and transition)
Ozone is a new start-up launched in 2019 by Lyndon Oh, Ph.D and Ben Colman, who worked at Google (and Facebook for Lyndon Oh).
Since they worked at these tech giants, they know how their rules work after being so frustrated with how the data model works.
As a result, Ozone works by playing their reverse UNO card and playing their game by making these companies pay you for your data.
So if you feel companies should pay you for shopping on their website after giving them your data, you’ll love that this is possible.
I believe you should earn anonymously, and that is possible with Ozone.
You and only you hold the private keys to your data and personal identity in a highly encrypted server.
So if you want businesses to pay you for your data, you only need to provide them with information, such as age [25-35], gender, zip code, etc.
Or you could put down irrelevant information about yourself and say you're a 300 pound dude [named Chuck] living in their mom's basement. But that's not advisable by me if you want to earn more money for your data.
And it's super easy to set up your account and get started.
Pros:
None
Cons:
Poor marketing and communication
No engagement with people on social media when questions are asked
The Review:
I liked how there was more transparency from companies interested in paying for your data when they started off in the beginning.
But the issue with them is their lack of communication with the community and their current user base.
They suddenly re-branded their company and didn't bother to send out an email to those who already have an account with them.
They didn't even bother answering questions on their Instagram about those who still had money on their account but didn't have enough to withdraw (me included).
Even if the company has good ideas to help monetize people's data, it's a sh*t service if they can't or don't actively engage with people.
I have emailed them before about some ideas, and they never gave me a response despite reading my email.
I hope that they read this and that they change their ways. Otherwise, their user base won't grow, and they will be forced to shut down.
Monetizing people's data will become unsustainable if they can't or don't know how to communicate with people, especially if they're planning on creating a new cryptocurrency.
A cryptocurrency's value is determined by the community, and Ozone has always struggled to build one.
Their results show since their Instagram posts aren't engaging people.
For a more decentralized option, I highly recommend scrolling down to the Swash App.
(US region only, currently rebranding so it's unusable right now)
After a few years in development, Soli (formerly known as Solipay) is a mobile app released at the end of 2020 after 2 years in development.
Originally, you were able to get paid for your data from:
Browsing history
Identifiers
Mobile device information
Banking information
Location history
Personal information about yourself
Now the app focuses on cashback rewards and earning interest rates on those rewards that are more than 10x the national average.
Soon, they'll launch their own Web3 cryptocurrency, Solicoin, as a way to get paid for your data.
Pros:
None at the moment
Cons:
Poor marketing and communication
Their Instagram is a total mess that focuses on aesthetics instead of benefits for you
The team is disorganized based activity of their Discord server and lack of moderation and engagement with the community
This showcases terrible leadership
Getting paid for your data through cashback rewards is a vague concept that needs to be thoroughly explained
Solipay was a legit mobile app when they first started out since I did get paid $250 but run into problems transferring that money at first.
The Review:
Solipay was initially a great app created by a small start-up company with a big vision.
But their lack of transparency and poor communication skills makes it hard for people like us, the consumers, to work with them when attempting to use their app.
Even after 2 years of launching their app (2022 at the time of this writing), they’re still struggling to communicate with people.
They didn’t even bother to email people who had an account that they were rebranding everything with Soli as the new app.
It screams out terrible communication even if the product turns out to be good.
Even if Solicoin is released, it's not going to be worth anything if they can't communicate properly since the community determines the value of the coin and not the company.
Right now, there is a lack of a community within Soli despite having 50k+ followers on Instagram.
Their 1000 true fans are all gone with barely anyone to support them.
I'm hoping that they read this and that they change their ways before they relaunch their app again, especially communicating about the issues on their app with their user base.
Otherwise, it's going to be a difficult struggle to overcome and they will be forced to shut down the app for good.
For a decentralized version of this app, I highly recommend scrolling down to GeoCash and Swash App.
Permission.io
[Web3] (KYC required)
Permission.io is a provider of permission advertising for eCommerce.
Their purpose is to reward you for your data and from third-party e-commerce platforms. It uses the Polygon Blockchain to distribute its cryptocurrency, ASK.
And believe this.
Every time you go online, you'll get rewarded with ASK coins in exchange for your valuable data with their Chrome extension.
By using Permission, you're helping end the current corrupt advertising model and taking back your time and personal data.
So you'll like that engaging with Permission and getting rewarded causes Big Tech to lose its power over you.
If you feel concerned about your data, you'll love that Permission is transparent with how they operate.
So let's sign up with Permission!
Pros:
Available worldwide (except for a list of countries that are banned from using Permission.io which is listed in their Terms of Use)
Extremely transparent in what they do with our data and how they use it according to their Privacy Policy
Since Permission is on the Polygon blockchain, you can expect that your personal data is encrypted and secure
Has a 22% staking (interest rate) APY through Bitrue (crypto exchange) which is significantly better than what current US banks offer
Total coin supply: 100 billion
Current circulation: 5+ billion
Cons:
One account per user only
Requires KYC (Know Your Customer) which involves uploading personal identification of yourself such as driver's license or passport
The minimum withdrawal is 25,000 ASK
The minimum threshold might be lowered as the price of ASK increases
Customer support needs a bit more improvement
Based on my experience, they only read the last recent conversation sent to their ticket which they may seem to think is enough
But they really need to read the full conversation to fully understand the context so problems would be resolved quickly and interactions may or may not become worse
Other Notes:
ASK is redeemable for Permission apparel, gift cards, or exchanging it for other cryptocurrencies
Permission has partnered with Swash to help innovate and revolutionize the Web3 space for data ownership, control, and monetization
Thomas Shin, former Facebook (Meta) Executive, has been appointed as the new CEO in June 2022
Unknown when rewards will be placed back again as they have been temporarily removed in place of a new rewards system according to Reddit
Listed on Gate.io, a strong indication that the project isn't dead
Very active on Reddit
The Review:
First, I love how transparent Permission is.
Using blockchain technology is the right step in preparing for our future.
It just weeds out a lot of the terrible actors in our society while benefiting us with more security and privacy.
Second, I do hope that they manage to compete with an e-commerce giant like Amazon in the future.
I want to see how Jeff Bezos would react after knowing how Amazon treats its workers to satisfy people's convenience.
Permission is a company that knows what they're doing and how to get things done along with its mission values that can easily be agreeable.
They originally had a road map on their website. But it seems plans changed when they went from the Ethereum Blockchain to the Polygon Blockchain.
While they transitioned from the Polygon Blockchain to Ethereum, they removed easy ways to earn ASK.
Other than shopping and earning ASK, you could earn ASK by:
Watching videos on pages of their products (unavailable at this time)
Watching ads when you search on Google where a pop-up would show up via Chrome extension (doesn't seem to work now)
Permission started small, similar to every other company, but it has the potential to become massive in the future.
Use the promo code A9QFNH and complete ID verification to receive 100 ASK tokens as a sign-up bonus for completing ID verification!
For questions about Permission, you can check their FAQs by clicking here.
(US region and iOS only)
If you're not paying for the product, you are the product.
Delphia is an online fiduciary investment advisor that provides a way to reward you for the data you give to companies every day.
They use AI to analyze data and look for trends in the population that can inform their quantitative trading strategies.
It looks for your best interests in getting the most returns out of your data and money compared to the flaws of a human being.
Similar to the spare change investment service Acorns, you can choose a conservative, balanced, or aggressive portfolio.
So you can feel comfortable knowing it mixes a combination of equity and fixed-income investments suitable for you.
It has a team of data scientists, engineers, academics, and researchers that look for your best financial interests in mind.
And you can believe your data is encrypted in a highly secure data center if you're worried about security.
The best thing about this is that you don't need any money to start.
All you need is basic information about yourself to best fit your personalized investment strategy.
It turns your data into the best investment portfolio you'll have.
And if you like winning big money, you'd better start inviting your friends to try out this app.
It's time to take back proper control of your data on your phone.
Pros:
Your data pays for the fees and costs. If not, then you could pay $10 per month instead (though I wouldn't recommend that)
Accepts various data sources on your phone such as data usage on your apps and banking data. More may possibly be added in the future.
You will have complete control over which data sources you link to Delphia
You can choose to invest all data sources, only a few, or none at all and invest their money instead. These selections can be modified at any time.
Delphia will never sell or share any of your data with third parties
Insured by SIPC which covers up to $500,000 in securities for each type of account you hold with Delphia and up to $250,000 in cash.
Above and beyond this, Apex has secured excess SIPC insurance that provides an additional $150 million of coverage across all its clients.
Registered with the SEC
You get to win some money every week
They're quite active on their Twitter account and customer support is very responsive to their emails to the point where they treat you like you're human
Cons:
Still an early start-up so development has been slow
The number of third-party integrations with personal finance services such as Mint.com are limited at the moment
Expected returns are out of their control for an AI, especially for a human since no human mind can do this
You may encounter ancillary account fees
The Review:
Delphia has a pretty big vision of being able to give away money to every single user of this app and reinvesting that money in a portfolio powered by AI to make the decisions for you.
Although I haven't invested much money into their app yet, they've finally released a way to earn from our data in the form of cryptocurrency after 3 long years releasing this video below:
They're retiring the $10 million dollars sweepstakes in favor of the new PHI rewards program for your data connections in the app.
Use the referral code BZNEZ
For questions about Delphia such as how they make their money, you can check their FAQs by clicking here.
(Available for any country that supports PayPal)
Tartle is the world's first personal data marketplace where anybody can buy or sell their data anonymously.
The idea of Tartle is simple.
You add information anonymously on specific data packets, such as any existing health conditions or surgeries you had, and wait until a buyer shows up.
Here's the fascinating part.
The marketplace acts like eBay.
The buyers bid their price for your data, and you can say yes or no to their offer.
If you don't like the price offered for a data packet, let's say no and wait for someone else.
If it seems like a great price, let's sell that data packet!
With military-grade encrypted servers powered by NordVPN, you can believe that your data is safe.
If you feel worried about someone looking at your data without permission, you always have complete control over it. You can delete it whenever you want.
Tartle is one of the best marketplaces to sell your data, which continues to grow an international audience.
So let's create an account today and join other people to help give personal data more value to buyers!
Pros:
Your account name is in a series of numbers and letters in the system so there's no way to identify you
Since you're anonymously selling your data, the terms of service on the website is geared significantly towards the buyers of your data which have more restrictions on them while encrypting your data until the buyer finalizes their purchase
Available in 222+ different countries
Open to suggestions for data packets not listed yet
Open to suggestions or constructive criticisms on their social media accounts
Accessible on any browser, device, or OS systems such as Windows, Mac, or Linux
You can set it and forget it with the autosell feature to have it sold automatically to a bidder, making it an easy source for passive income 24/7 even as you sleep
Cons:
Still an early start-up so a lot of things are in development
You would have to update your data over time if you want to generate more value for your data
Currently no smartphone app of Tartle yet
Their current methods on marketing are preventing them from growing faster
Other Notes:
You have the option of filling out data packets that are identified, which include personal information such as your name, address, email, and/or phone number, or data packets that are deidentified, or both
New data packets or data packet updates are released about a weekly basis, sometimes more frequently
There are data packets you won't be able to fill out such as topics on coding if you don't have any experience in that area
It would be better to turn on autosell for a data packet, in my opinion, instead of waiting for someone to bid at a higher price if you value your time
Anyone above the age of 13 can use Tartle. If they are under the age of 13, they would need their parent's or guardian's permission
PayPal handles your withdrawal transactions, not Tartle. If you want to speed up the transaction, you have to contact them.
The Review:
In the making and process for over 5 years, Tartle is truly something providing us with something that is groundbreaking.
And it is so groundbreaking that there is actually trouble with development since the concept of providing people proper money for their data is still very new, especially if it's something that completely provides you anonymity.
That is hard and I truly applaud the team for being able to get this far.
But so far, growth has been a bit slow.
Recently, they've changed their payments from Bitcoin to TARTLEcoin then to PayPal cash now since it seems that TARTLEcoin wasn't popular enough. They may add more options while bringing back the previous ones once more users sign up.
They've also added more integrations such as Strava and Quickbooks along with the usual social media accounts that you can connect and immediately get paid to your PayPal account.
There are also weird questions that are asked by businesses such as UFO sightings. Like.. what??
A business that asks for this kind of data is most likely operated by aliens themselves seeking their own kind. /s
Payment proof from Tartle. I sent a withdrawal request on November 22 but PayPal had to verify each transactionU sold to a data buyer.
It would be faster if they were 5 $1 USD transactions instead of 50+ transactions of less than $1.
And due to their progress, they have shown me that there is huge potential from them in the future and I am excited to see what else they have in store.
For questions about Tartle (as a seller), you can check their FAQs by clicking here.
(Available on Windows, MacOS, Linux [as Swarmbytes], and Android)
Honeygain is one of the easiest passive income sources by providing a part of your internet connection data.
The concept is simple.
Open up the application on your computer and/or Android phone/tablet and let it run in the background while you do other tasks.
If you're wondering how the data collected from your device is used, Honeygain uses it for:
Gathering web statistics
Price comparisons
Verified business processes
And you can believe Honeygain encrypts your internet connection since they value your privacy for supporting businesses.
And if you have a fast internet connection, you'll earn even more.
So get ready to start streaming on your Netflix account cause you'll like to see that money pouring into your Honeygain account.
If you feel okay with getting more modest earnings, that's fine too. My internet speeds are okay-ish, so I'm not earning as much as other people, but at least I'm earning something.
But regardless of your internet speeds, you should start using Honeygain now.
Pros:
Requires a minimal amount of data: your e-mail, IP address, and payout method.
You can earn up 10,000 points, the equivalent of $10 USD, everyday through their lucky pot game. The timer resets at 0 UTC or 12:00 AM GMT everyday so be sure to check your dashboard.
No limits to where you are. It works worldwide.
Using data from your mobile network may help you earn faster
10% commission for each person you refer
The connection is private and encrypted
Cons:
Only one device (used to be two) can use Honeygain per household at a time (2 if you're using mobile data)
VPN usage not allowed and your account may possibly get banned for it though there are options for whitelisting your VPN
Unknown when content delivery will be available next time or which countries it will be available to in the future
Withdrawal is 20,000 points or $20 USD which can take a while for some people
Prone to the 3% fee for withdrawal through PayPal
Other Notes:
Get paid either in PayPal or in Bitcoin if PayPal doesn't support your country
You have the (Web3) option to earn in Jump Token ($JMPT) instead which allows you to earn 50% while paying out within seconds with low transaction fees compared to PayPal
Pro: There is no mining involved and uses a "Proof-of-Task" consensus instead
I just made that consensus up since the white paper isn't very clear about what consensus it uses other than the fact that it's task-oriented
Con: Only available via PancakeSwap at the moment
For US residents, please refer to this guide to help with the payout method by clicking here
For finding a wallet that supports the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network to store your Jump Tokens, please click here
For people new to this, NEVER give out your seed phrase or private keys to anyone, even if it sounds like a good deal to get an exponential amount of funds or someone acting as "online support"
I consider this to be the Nigerian Prince method of crypto but without the begging while being less blatant about their intentions
The Review:
Honeygain is easy money for me, but I feel like I'm not earning enough due to several factors:
Location
Internet speed
Internet traffic
Various internet problems due to my terrible ISP
Every person's experience will be different, and it is hard to tell whether you're in a good location for optimized earning.
But regardless, I do look forward to opening the lucky pot on Honeygain every day.
I like being surprised about getting a big prize, but I'm not sure if this is something relatable to you.
If you own multiple houses, I recommend setting up 2 additional devices that don't need to be high-powered electricity consumers for each home.
An eco-friendly laptop or an old laptop works well as a normal one.
But overall, I think Honeygain is an excellent software for earning passive income through sharing minimal data on our devices, especially if we're helping businesses anonymously.
I want to get my $5 USD / 5000 points starting gift!
For questions about Honeygain, you can check their FAQs by clicking here.
(Available on Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Docker)
Pawns.app is exactly like Honeygain, except the amount you get paid per GB is different.
Pros:
You can run as many devices as you want as long as the residential IP address is different for each one of them
No limits to where you are. It works worldwide.
Using data from your mobile network may help you earn faster
10% commission for each person you refer
The connection is private and encrypted
Cons:
Only one device running per residential IP address (household) at a time
Cannot be used with VPN
3% processing fee when withdrawing to PayPal
Lacking a bit of transparency since they never sent an email about the minimum payout threshold changing from 25 cents to $5 USD
Other Notes:
You earn $0.20 USD per 1GB shared
You will have to share 20 GB worth of bandwidth to reach $5 for the first time if you use the link below to sign up otherwise, you'll have to share 25 GB
The minimum payout changed from $1 USD to $0.25 to $5
Redeem either in PayPal, Prepaid Virtual VISA Cards, or Bitcoin
Added ability to take surveys
The legal age for using this depends on the country you live in. If you are underage, you might need to get your parent’s or guardian’s permission to use this.
You need to check to see if there are any updates from time to time since the program doesn't automatically update
The Review:
Pawns.app has fewer features than Honeygain.
I'm questioning their reasons for changing the minimum payouts from $1 USD to $0.25 to $5, though.
"Just why??" is my response since I don't have excellent internet speeds to share more unused bandwidth.
Other than that, you'll have to check from time to time to see if there's a newer version on their website.
I used a version where it would sometimes crash for almost a year since they lack a feature for checking updates. It still isn't implemented yet, so that part is a hassle.
They didn't even inform me about rebranding from IPRoyal Pawns to Pawns.app. So their marketing and communication needs to be improved.
I want to get my $1 bonus!
For questions about Pawns.app, you can check their FAQs by clicking here and scrolling to the bottom of the page.
And if you have even more questions about them, you can check their blog by clicking here.
(Available for any country that supports PayPal, downloadable on Windows, MacOS, and Linux)
Packetstream is also like Honeygain and Pawns.app but leans heavily towards privacy as an alternative for a VPN service.
Pros:
You can run as many computers as you want, even on the same network
Con: There is a chance of diminishing returns the more computers you connect with PacketStream
Works for a majority of countries
3% commission for each person you refer (currently 20% for a limited time)
Connection is definitely private and encrypted
Cons:
Subject to a 3% processing fee when withdrawing to PayPal
Unavailable for you if PayPal isn't used in your country
Cannot be used with VPN even though the FAQs don't mention it
Other Notes:
You earn $0.10 USD for each GB you share
Minimum payout is $5 USD
You'll have to share a total of 50 GB worth of bandwidth in order for you to withdraw
The Review:
Other than market research used by Honeygain and Pawns.app for businesses, PacketStream can be used for those who are willing to pay for an alternative VPN service or proxy networks.
They won't have to go through the hassle of any blocked or banned web services or encountering multiple Captcha.
Since this service is explicitly focused on privacy, your information is kept safe and secure guaranteed.
Each 100 MB you contribute will give you $0.01 USD.
For questions about PacketStream, you can check their FAQs by clicking here.
And if you have even more questions about them, you can check their blog by clicking here.
(US region only)
Clture is a product from the company, Streamlytics, who provide data to companies that come from a safe and ethical process of collecting data from consumers like us.
This statement shows that they are unique compared to Google and Facebook.
So I believe they are setting themselves to be a better example for other companies to follow.
Not only are you given a data license from Clture, but you're also anonymously giving them access to your data ethically and getting paid for it.
You'll feel glad that there are no strings attached to this process.
The only thing that sucks about Clture is the wait time for all your data to be processed and legitimized. But I can tell you that you'll like how it's all worth it in the end.
So let's start signing up for Clture, upload our data from the services we use, and get our proper cut of the money!
Pros:
The only service where you can upload your streaming history of movies and TV shows and get paid money after all those recommendations of what to watch next
Very helpful customer service. They treated and interacted with me like a real person which I appreciate which I had trouble with Avast mistakenly reporting it as a phishing website
Requires you to upload data as a csv, json, or html which is more secure and private since you're not connecting your accounts to Clture while complying with data privacy laws as a company
Your personal information is stripped from your data when it is sold to buyers
The parent company of Clture, Streamlytics, doesn't collect user data other than website data such as cookies according to their Privacy Policy
Expansion of other types of data you can upload other than video streaming data when Clture first got started
Only requests banking information when it's time to payout
Cons:
Despite being mobile-friendly when accessing the website, there's no mobile app for it yet where you can upload the files so it's somewhat not user-friendly in that aspect
Requires you to periodically upload your data which can be inconvenient for some people
Requirements for payout needs to reach a minimum threshold of $100 while having an account that is over 90 days old (for reducing fraud)
The plus side is that you can easily get over $100 USD if you upload years worth of data
The downside is that it takes at least 3 weeks for you to get paid out which feels like forever
Forces you to register with a mobile phone number instead of an email and password which can be susceptible to SIM swapping since it only asks for a code from your mobile device
If you've watched the show Mr. Robot - S04E09: Conflict, hacking a cell tower is very possible and it will not be pretty if it does happen if hackers can gain access to multiple SMS text codes at once
This can be avoided if you use a VoIP phone service like Google Voice where it's practically impossible to SIM swap since the SIM card doesn't exist
The infamous hacking scene involving a cell tower from Mr. Robot (also one of the most epic scenes in TV history)
Other Notes:
Ability to upload data from the following websites and services
Video
YouTube (extremely slow to review)
Apple TV
Netflix
Hulu
Google Play Movie
Prime Video
Audio
YouTube Music
Apple Music
Location & Map History
Google Maps
Apple Maps
Uber
Purchase & Order History
Amazon Order History
Uber Eats
Other Services
Google Fit
Google Assistant
The Review:
If you've ever watched The Social Dilemma on Netflix, I'd say Clture is a great counterattack against those types of companies shown in the film.
Those companies are making money the longer we stay in front of a screen connected to the internet with that video autoplay and personal recommendations in mind.
With that said, it's interesting Clture wants various types of data, which includes digital ownership for movies and TV shows.
They're making it feel like we're getting a tax refund.
Easily got over $100 for uploading years of my data. Still needed to wait after 90 days for me to withdraw it.
Overall, Clture was created to be that ethical middle finger against some of the problems The Social Dilemma mentions with streaming companies that psychologically take advantage of our brains to keep our eyes tied to our screens.
Okay Netflix. That's pretty creepy knowing that you can see what people are watching. I am so glad I am getting back my money since you sold my data for yourselves to earn.
Update:
The staff at Clture aren't responding to my emails nor have they opened them about my questions and issues.
So what I suggest doing to sending an email to their parent company, Streamlytics, about Clture and getting the service running properly again.
Here is their email: hello (at) streamlytics.co
What we want to do is to pressure them by kindly asking them to get Clture functioning properly again and get paid for our withdrawal requests, not spam with unnecessary emails and rude demands.
We both get a $5 cash drop after signing up!
For questions about Clture, you can check their FAQs by clicking here.
(US region only, available on iOS and Android)
ATM.com, or Ant Transaction Machine, is a mobile app that lets you create a ledger account and earn money, which pairs the data you've shared with partnered companies you may be interested in.
All you need is your name, address, and contact information.
A data vault keeps your personal information safe in the app and is only used to pair you with offers through Data Dating®. You can either accept or decline offers from these companies. It's that simple.
You can believe that companies won't receive any data you've shared with ATM.
So if you feel you'll receive shady ads showing up in your physical mail after accepting many offers, don't worry about it.
You'll love that there aren't any because your data won't reach data brokers.
And if you like to rave to people about how this app is awesome for giving you easy money in 10 seconds, you are more than welcome to do that.
So take less than a minute of your time every day to answer questions for your data vault.
Sign up for the offers you're interested in to earn even more money.
Pros:
Easy source for active and passive income
You can see which companies are interested in your data which also includes NordVPN and Ryan Reynold's Mint Mobile company for some reason
You are free to choose which companies can have your data
Data becomes more valuable as more users sign up and share their data as a group
Uses Plaid for linking with your bank
Companies that are interested in your data are non-invasive through ATM.com's Data Messenger tab
They do not have access to it at all and you are left with an inbox of their ads that you may be interested in
None of your data is being sold to data brokers since it never leaves your data vault in the app
You can get rewarded for location-based offers near you
Cons:
The minimum withdrawal is at least $20 which is subtracted from your balance
It's designed to protect from fraud and chargebacks
Not enough information about how safe our data is kept in terms of encryption
Only mentions that it is safe and secure. Technically, any company can say that which is generic.
A bit of misleading information on their website about mentioning the digital footprint you leave behind on websites when they can't provide a solution about it on their app
May be subject to taxes according to their Terms of Service
The app can only be associated with 3 bank accounts and one bank account at a time
Other Notes:
You have the option to use the money you earn to invest in stocks as fractional shares and eventually, core (ETFs) as well
Reduced the amount of money earned from brand matching to 1 to 2 cents
The Review:
I think ATM.com is an okay app for sharing your data.
The app has been changing how much you can earn for each offer accepted.
Initially, people could earn $0.10 to $1 per brand match. It soon changed to 1-2 cents, and now, 5 cents per brand match.
I can assume that the business model ATM.com used was unsustainable since they were losing money and lowered the amount you earned until more people signed up.
Since the offers allow you to earn more if you sign up for them, it balances things out.
I have not signed up for a single product or service ever since I started using the app in February 2021 cause my time is valuable. But this is how much I could earn if I signed up for all the offers.
I thought at first that the home address I shared would be sold to data brokers, so I rejected every offer that required me to do this.
That's not the case once I took a close look at the website and then looked at how the offer was generated: "Data Used for Brand Match [which was shown based on my name, address, and contact information I've already provided]."
I regret rejecting every offer now...
For banking purposes, your browser needs to be equipped with at least 128-bit security encryption, according to their website.
So you don't want to use it on an outdated OS like Windows 7.
But overall, it's easy money.
My only complaint is the $20 minimum withdrawal.
That will be fixed as soon as more people sign up for the app.
For questions about ATM.com, you can check their FAQs (more like contact forms) by clicking here.
BIGtoken®
(Not available on iOS and Android or anywhere at the moment)
BIGtoken is a mobile app that lets you reclaim the value of your data through a secure platform.
By enabling you to control what data is shared, who can buy it, and how it's used, you're letting companies know that your data is more valuable than they think.
So if you feel you don't like getting tracked by companies online, this app can at least give you the ability to get paid for their actions in the background.
And I do believe that this app will change the way how companies can access your data: by explicitly requesting your permission.
Don't like the ability to earn money alone?
Well, you can have the ability to join or create a team where you complete actions within a certain amount of time and get rewarded even more, which is awesome!
So let's start downloading the app, sign up, and get your money deposited quickly today by linking your bank account, PayPal, or Coins.ph account.
Pros:
Surveys typically take 2-30 seconds each
Each survey has a follow-up to a previous survey completed so the number of surveys you get feels limitless each week
Extremely fast to get to 1500 tokens or approximately $15.00 USD which personally took me less than a week
Advertisers will never know your name or contact information
Ability to create teams where you can earn more points for doing actions together
You get to decide who you sell your data to
Data is stored using a two-level encryption method for all account information and personal data points
No fees when withdrawing to your PayPal account
Points can be redeemed for cryptocurrency in the future
Cons:
Required to create an account and use the email associated with it to be able to contact and ask customer support any questions you have
Data currently can't be monetized at this time since it is currently in the private phase at the moment so you would have to wait for a little longer
You would have to enable tracking data (and Apple Advertising) to earn your share of the money
Data collected and sold may include IP addresses or other online identifiers when interacting with an application or advertising
Using a VPN or VoIP is not allowed
Users outside of the US and Puerto Rico can only redeem their points for tickets to enter big cash prizes as Raffles
Limited options of gift cards for users in the US and Puerto Rico
Customer support won't be honest with themselves if they are unable to answer certain questions you ask and avoid answering anything about it
This decreases the transparency that they have with people
Other Notes:
You can only withdraw $15 at a time
If you don't complete certain questions within a period of time, they will disappear for good and you'll lose out on some earnings.
The app is currently undergoing a major update which started in February 2022 includes the ability to:
Receive payments in crypto
Convert the crypto in your wallet to fiat money
Hold NFTs in the app
Since the topic of cryptocurrencies & NFTs can be very controversial, I've created an infographic in a separate post which can be found at the very end to clear up a lot of the misinformation you most likely have heard and possibly strongly believe in which you take a good look by clicking here.
Payment proof from BigToken for $15 USD withdrawal to PayPal. There weren't any fees for receiving it as well.
The Review:
First, I just wanted to say I like how straightforward the majority of these 1-4 question surveys are while rarely getting any surveys that require you to type.
My only complaint is that I had to use a contact form on their website with an alias email I registered for them to reply to my questions and not any other email I use.
They were questions about their security in general and bugs and features they were missing.
And even if they did reply, they avoid answering any questions if they don't know the answers to them.
This decreases their transparency, in my opinion, since they're not being honest with us, which reduces my trust in BIGtoken.
For countries outside the US and Puerto Rico, it's terrible you can only redeem your points for tickets to a cash prize raffle since you aren't guaranteed to win anything.
But other than that, this app does show potential since cryptocurrency is an option for redemption in the future.
So there are no limits on who can use it (except for people in countries that banned cryptocurrency usage).
As of June 2022, I sent them a message about their progress on the app since they're building it from scratch and which blockchain network will be integrated with the app but they have not given me a reply at all.
You could try bothering them and sending them a message on their website but I doubt you'll get a reply back.
There's supposed to be a couple links down here but I removed them until the app goes back up again.
For questions about BIGtoken, you can check their FAQs by clicking here.
(US region, iOS and Android)
Cashew is a small start-up company created around the end of 2020 to help you properly monetize your personal data.
Being tired of big tech companies exploiting our data ever since they emerged into existence, Cashew aims to break that process and set themselves as an example that we can value and trust.
So you'll feel great to hear that personal data is kept safe and stripped from any personal information that would identify you.
The process on the app is so simple. You'll like that you only need to spend a few minutes on the app every few days.
All you need is your phone number to sign up and you can get started right away.
Pros:
Customer support is very responsive and friendly since they actually feel like human beings who understand you
Messages from you are automatically deleted by default from their servers everyday according to their Privacy Policy
Your information is protected and does not contain any personal identifiers when shared with third parties
You earn a small amount of money each day as passive income
You have the option to cash out to Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal without any withdrawal fees
Cons:
None so far
Other Notes:
Use a VoIP phone service if signing up with a phone number to avoid any chances of getting SIM swapped
The minimum withdrawal threshold changed from $5.00 to $10.00 and back to $5.00 due to popular demand
You have the opportunity to earn more through partner surveys (which I'm not a fan of)
Option to create or join a club where you complete surveys as a group to increase your earning multiplier up to 10x and the bonus pool will be split at the end of each week based on individual contributions
Added daily, weekly, monthly, and lifetime missions where you have the opportunity to earn tickets and cash
The missions with just cash involve completing certain surveys
You can redeem tickets for leveling up and earning cash
Added USDC crypto payments for withdrawal
The Review:
Based on the updates they've made to their app, Cashew turned into a generic app where you have to take surveys to earn money instead of generating money from your data.
So my opinion of them has temporarily lowered for a significant reason (check the email below).
I previously asked them questions when they launched pretty early, and here is what they said and clarified to me:
Cashew does not share any personally identifiable information with any third parties whatsoever.
Once Cashew aggregates enough data to be useful, they plan on first removing all identifiable information from the data, then aggregating the data into useful trends/analysis as requested by third-party partners.
Payment proof from Cashew to PayPal which is definitely legit. And no fees for receiving it also.
The future focus of this app will include (based on my past experiences):
Submitting the amount of time you spend on apps by taking screenshots in the battery section of your phone
The first time you submit your screenshots, you will probably earn $1
After that, it's variable each week plus an additional 10 to 70 cents depending if you spend 10 minutes on the app or at least an hour
Uploading credit card and bank statements
10 cents for each upload in my experience
Earning a tiny bit of passive income everyday for your data
Adding the ability to upload data on your health
Initially, the app launched while being unable to get any profits and had to pay people out of their own pocket for their data.
I do applaud them for their honesty and dedication to helping people.
Since they removed most of the features for monetizing your data and focused on surveys (as a way to help developers make money, I asked them if they were ever going to bring back the features to monetize people's data again.
This is the response I got back: