Your data is worth money: This is how dWallet, Brazil's digital economy revolution, works.

Brazil has launched a nationwide pilot program allowing citizens to monetize their digital footprint through data savings accounts called dWallets. The program, developed by the startup DrumWave in partnership with the state-owned company Dataprev, began in April 2025 and aims to democratize access to the data economy. It is being tested with people who have payroll loans, a group of more than 60 million Brazilians. The goal: to transform personal data into an economic asset directly controlled by its owner.

From passive data to valuable asset

The dWallet program, officially launched at Web Summit Rio, proposes a global disruption: creating a digital savings account where data generated by internet, app, or financial services is deposited. From there, users can authorize the sale of this information to companies and receive digital payments for each transaction.

On average, participating users are earning around $50 per month for granting access to data they weren't even aware they were generating. The system classifies and values ​​personal information using its own index called DIM (Data Information Meaning), which assesses quality, usefulness, and market relevance. It also incorporates authentication and verification standards to ensure that the data provided is legitimate, up-to-date, and useful to potential buyers.

Dataprev, DrumWave and the State as an ally

The collaboration between DrumWave and Dataprev—the public company that manages information on millions of Brazilian citizens—makes Brazil the first country to institutionalize the ownership of personal data as a right and an economic asset. The initial trial focuses on users with payroll loans ( consigned loans), a database of more than 60 million people whose financial data can be monetized with explicit consent.

This alliance represents an unprecedented step in the region: it is the first time a state has directly provided its citizens with the tools to earn money from their digital information. According to Rodrigo Assumpção, president of Dataprev, it is “a step towards digital equity, recognizing the intrinsic value of personal data.”

Furthermore, the system's architecture ensures security: DrumWave does not access raw data; it only manages the "digital wallet" as a transaction layer. Transparency and traceability are key to preventing abuse or data breaches.

From GDPR to economic realism

Brazil has taken a firm legal path to reach this point. In 2020, it implemented the LGPD (General Data Protection Law), inspired by the European GDPR, and in 2022 went further, amending its Constitution to recognize data protection as a fundamental right. In 2023, Congress drafted a bill to recognize personal data as private property.

The next step is no longer protection, but empowerment. According to Brittany Kaiser, president of the Own Your Data Foundation and evangelist for the project, “the digital economy has grown on the foundation of data that was never compensated. This system seeks to correct that historical imbalance.”

And the market supports this: the data monetization sector in Brazil generated $88.650 billion in 2024, and is estimated to reach $326.800 billion by 2033. If this pilot program proves viable, it will not only consolidate a new economic right, but also a new model of digital participation.

The citizen as an investor in his information

The key is to transform each person into an investor in their own digital footprint. Just as today we choose where to keep our money or on which platform to upload our photos, soon we could decide whether our browsing history, our digital health, or our purchases help finance our daily lives.

The Brazilian model proposes a profound change in the social contract of the internet. Until now, large technology companies accumulated data in exchange for free services. Citizens paid with their privacy. Today, the logic is reversed: “If my information generates value, I should receive a share of that value ,” says Kaiser.

With authentication mechanisms, exposure limits, and withdrawal options, dWallet aims not only to help you get paid, but also to empower you to make decisions. Because in the new attention economy, knowing your value—in terms of data—is the first step to regaining control.

A new digital contract?

Brazil has lit a fuse that other countries cannot ignore. In a context where AI, algorithms, and predictive models increasingly rely on personal data, the fair monetization of this raw material is no longer a utopia, but a political necessity.

The dWallet program could become the global model for establishing a new digital contract between citizens, the state, and technology companies. One where data is not something to be stolen or merely protected, but something to be traded under fair conditions.

It remains to be seen whether the infrastructure is scalable, whether citizens will adopt these tools en masse, and whether buyers will be willing to pay fair prices for verified data. But if it works, we are witnessing the birth of an economy where the individual is no longer the product, but the owner. An economy that restores value, dignity, and agency to those who today simply surrender their digital footprint in exchange for nothing.