Gener8 has launched a mobile app that allows people to see what data a company holds on them then gives them the choice to earn from it themselves.
Founder Sam Jones has also closed a £5.1 million funding round which values the company – 13th on our recent MarTech 50 ranking – at £30m.
In academia and government the PIMS concept – personal information management systems – is the idea that in the future systems will enable people to centralise their data into one location. Gener8 says it is doing that today.
“We believe Gener8 is the first company in the world to enable people to centralise their data into one location and earn from it. We’ve built something that, until now, has only been theoretical in the world of academia,” said Jones.
“Think about it: isn’t it crazy that we don’t even know which companies buy and sell our data? In fact, we don’t even know what data company’s hold on us.
“What do Facebook and Google know about you? Why do spam emails keep landing in your inbox? Well, with the Gener8 app you can connect to different apps and we’ll show the data that these apps hold on you.
“If you connect to Google, we can show you all the data that Google holds on you – every search you’ve ever made, every YouTube video you’ve watched, every ad that you’ve clicked on. It’s mind-boggling.
“We can then enable you to delete this data from Google. Or should you choose, you can anonymise your data and earn from it.
“The most common feedback we heard from our users was: ‘When is Gener8 coming to mobile?” We listened – and here it is!”
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A consortium of investors participated in the funding round, including ex-cricket captain of the West Indies, Chris Gayle, former chief executive of the British Olympic Association, Simon Clegg CBE and Shane Ryan, a prolific investor who is the son of RyanAir founder, Tony Ryan.
They join musician Tinie Tempah, legendary football manager, Harry Redknapp, and Dragons’ Den stars Peter Jones, Touker Suleyman and Tej Lalvani who have also invested in the company.
Gayle commented: “It’s madness what happens with our online data, I didn’t have a clue how many companies were making money from us…did you?!
“When I met Sam and he explained how much we’re being taken for a ride, and the profits so many companies I’ve never even heard of are making, I knew he was onto something. We’re being taken advantage of.
“Others are making millions whilst we make nothing – and most of us don’t even know it’s happening. Come on, let’s change that!”
Close to 6m people visited the Gener8 desktop website – nearly 10% of the UK population – and 600,000 people registered accounts on the browser.
Today, Gener8 users spend the equivalent of 250 years browsing on Gener8 every month and view over 100m web pages.
The browser lets people choose to keep their data private or earn from it themselves whilst browsing online. By selecting ‘Privacy Mode’ the user can stop companies from tracking them, or the ‘Rewards Mode’ means that a person can share their data with Gener8 to monetise it for them.
People then receive points in return for sharing their data with Gener8. These points can be redeemed for products, vouchers or donations to charity in Gener8’s marketplace.
The average person earns between £5-25 in rewards per month, Gener8 says, with thousands of pounds being donated to charities which are changed on a monthly basis.