Personal is a data vault which helps you organize your life’s details and makes you the gatekeeper of who gets access to your information and what they can see. It wants to be the private data vault for everything in your life, from your insurance to your dining preferences.

There are plenty of websites and social networks for sharing information publicly. We post a constant stream of information via Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Google and YouTube daily. But these social sites are not suited for the storage and transmission of private information. Personal is a free web and mobile service (will be launching native Android and iPhone apps released soon) that helps you take control of all the digital information about yourself and your life, decide who gets access to it, and use it for your benefit. This information ranges from your passwords, your kids allergies, emergency contacts, credit card info, and more. Basically, any information you may not want to store in email but want to be able to share with your loved ones or friends.

With Personal you can store various information in ‘data vaults’ where you can selectively share certain vaults with people. Of course, all accounts on Personal include a legal guarantee that you own your data in the system. Your Personal data vault is a secure and convenient place for your gems. All sensitive data that you put in gems must be locked and unlocked with an owner-chosen password that Personal does not store and therefore, cannot access. Personal uses a 256-bit SSL encryption and HTTPS to ensure that there is no eavesdropping whenever data is transferred back-and-forth from your computer to Personal.

Filling out Gems in Personal is a time-consuming process, but perhaps that’s the point. Once you’ve invested so much time storing all of your personal information in one place, you’re going to use it. Eliminating the need to rewrite the same information over and over again is a nice bonus, but if Personal can achieve its goal of becoming a platform for private information, you may never have to fill out a form again.

How it works
Collect your data in discrete containers called gems. Each gem contains information about something in your life from your wifi password to your travel reward programs. Enter data once and use it over and over. You decide which gems to add to your data vault and what information to enter. Whether you access your vault from a computer, tablet or smart phone, your hard to remember information is always safely encrypted and at your fingertips.

Your data becomes even more useful when you grant private access to people you trust. It’s perfect for busy couples who constantly fill out forms, for teachers, sitters, and coaches. Easily combine related gems to provide an even more complete picture. You can also request access from others.

Hera some of the innovative ways you can use Personal
- Over the dinner with friends, you ask for their dinner party gems so you can see their food allergies or diet restrictions, and cook the perfect meal. And it’s fun to help others by making data available for them to adopt.

- Create a detailed gem for directions to work, including where to park and enter our office complex.
You can use it almost daily with visitors and my co-workers have adopted it as their own, multiplying the time-savings and benefits. You can get a clear view of where your data is going and who can access it on the Personal home feed. And by clicking on a contact, you can see all they gems they have access to and have shared with me.

How Personal Works