A paradox persists: never have users been so legally protected and never has distrust of digital applications been so strong.
According to an Ipsos study for the Data Publica Observatory, only 32% of French people say they are well informed about the use of their personal data. A figure which says less about the solidity of the framework than about a deeper confusion: that which consists of putting all applications in the same basket.
A solid framework, but a blurred perception
Since 2018, the GDPR has imposed clear rules: explicit consent, data minimization, right of access, rectification and erasure. The sanctions, sometimes record-breaking, demonstrated that this framework was not theoretical.
But in usage, an idea has taken hold: any application would collect data to resell it.
This perception, largely fueled by the excesses of certain economic models, masks a more nuanced reality. Because not all applications pursue the same objective, nor the same value creation logic.
Collecting is not selling
Any application collects data. It is an operating condition: location, activity, preferences. This information makes it possible to improve the service, personalize the experience and measure its effectiveness.
The resale of data to third parties is a specific economic choice, and not inevitable.
By mixing these two realities, we maintain a generalized mistrust, including towards models which are not based on the commercial exploitation of personal data.
The legacy of the attention economy
This confusion is also due to the recent history of digital technology. For more than a decade, the platform economy has been built on a simple principle: capturing attention to maximize advertising revenue.
In this model, data has become a strategic resource, sometimes to the detriment of readability for the user.
But this paradigm is today challenged. A new generation of applications is emerging, with a different logic: capturing less… and more providing direct and measurable value to the user.
Towards more readable and more responsible models
These new models are based on diversified sources of income: framed advertising, partnerships, affiliation, subscriptions. Data plays a functional role: improving the service, but does not necessarily constitute an asset to be monetized.
This implies an increased requirement: being able to simply explain what is collected, why, and in what framework. Regulatory compliance is no longer enough. Transparency becomes a competitive issue.
Trust as a new competitive advantage
The GDPR has laid the foundations for a solid framework. But trust cannot be decreed by law.
It is based on the ability of actors to make their practices understandable, to clearly distinguish their economic models, and to demonstrate, over time, their responsibility.
As users become more attentive to the use of their data, an evolution is emerging: applications will no longer be judged only on their performance or their ergonomics, but on their ability to establish a relationship of trust.
Tomorrow, the real competitive advantage of platforms may no longer be the quantity of data they collect… but the clarity with which they explain what they do with it.
