A personal logbook of the digital life

Today, everyone is generating and collecting lots of personal data. However the data is scattered on many apps and devices and it’s difficult to sort out the essential. A lot of it ends up on limited memory of mobile phones and is gone at some point. In addition, users have very limited control over their data and no true ownership.

Pryv, a Swiss-US start up based in Lausanne and in California, wants to put the users back in the driver's seat so they can take control of what is theirs and make something out of it.

Pryv is a user-centric service and platform where personal data streams are reunited under control of the user. They decide and filter what should be kept from any source, what should be deleted and what should be shared and with whom. It is even possible to choose the location where the data is stored.

A unique visualization tool, created by Pryv, will let the users view, explore and manage their data streams from the Pryv browser. All personal data gets to fit into one screen. Pryv is launching a visualization research project with EPFL which includes the support of KTI.

The company welcomes third-party apps and supports any type of content. Pryv requires from apps that they commit to having the user as sole owner of his data. With his consent only, apps can access one another’s streams to create even more meaning and insight. In other words, apps on Pryv are interoperable.

App developers thus benefit from an open API, a backend and an infrastructure that welcomes time stamped data.  Developers can thus focus on their app development.

Pryv was founded by Frederic Mauch, Pierre-Mikael Legris and Simon Goumaz. The start-up already raised about CHF 500K mainly from private funds and with some support from Canton de Vaud.  Pryv has been selected to participate at the Web Summit Alpha Selection and was also shortlisted in a group of 50 start-ups to meet top 70 industry influencers (NFX selection). The company has been shortlisted with 7 other start-ups to pitch in Lausanne at the upcoming ICT Investors' day in Lausanne.

A week ago, Pryv has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. The campaign has so far reached 6000 USD and over 40 backers and 200 sharings. On Indiegogo Pryv is looking for USD100k. The financial support would allow the team to complete current developments and release Pryv beta.