Following a number of data privacy and ad misuse scandals among the titans of tech, many users have been cooling on the social media networks and websites they once loved. But once all of your information is established in one spot, it can be hard to walk away
Many sites allow you to download your data from their platforms. However, if you don’t want to start all over after walking away from one platform, there’s a new option in the mix: The Data Transfer Project from Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Twitter. The DTP hasn’t been rolled out yet, but on Friday the companies behind its development provided the first peek at what we can expect.
The DTP is in active development, and while there are still some bugs to be worked out, there is a method to test the service in its current state. The project’s website explains how to test out the service. Eventually, it will allow you to port your data to another platform, or back it up elsewhere.
The effort is a significant step in collaboration across platforms and provides users with more options for using various online services—without being bound by their history using a specific one. Of course, there’s room for more contributors to the project as well. Notably missing from the bunch is Apple.
There’s no word yet on when the service will officially launch, but more information on how the DTP system works is available on its website.