Journal · 15 Jul 2026 · 6 min read
The EU Data Act: What Actually Changes for You
From September 2025 the EU Data Act reshapes who can access data from your connected devices. Here is what changes in practice — and what to do about it.
The EU Data Act came into force in September 2025. It is the second large piece of the European data framework after the GDPR, and it is the one most people have never heard of. It matters because it extends portability from social apps and mailboxes into connected devices — cars, watches, appliances, industrial sensors.
Three things it changes
1. You can access data from your own devices
If a device generates data about you or your use of it, you have the right to read that data and share it with a service of your choice. Manufacturers can no longer keep it locked inside a proprietary app.
2. Cloud switching gets easier
Providers must remove technical and contractual barriers to moving between clouds. For businesses this ends a decade of quiet lock-in.
3. Public bodies get emergency access — narrowly
In defined emergencies (floods, pandemics) authorities can request business data. Consumer personal data is protected by GDPR and stays out of scope.
What to do
For individuals: expect "download my device data" options to appear inside manufacturer apps over the next year. Ask for them if they are missing. For businesses: audit which of your services now have an obligation to expose data, and which will benefit from consuming other people's.
My Data Agent is built for exactly this world — one where data flows on the person's terms, not the platform's.