Personal records as a source of new services

Personal information is being used to support direct payment, rewards and new services. Verb lets individuals price and sell selected data. Femio records gender-based financial costs and connects users with partner rewards. Google Photos organizes clothing found in personal images into a digital wardrobe for virtual try-ons.

Google Photos uses AI to identify clothing across a user’s photo library and organize it into a digital wardrobe. The feature supports virtual outfit try-ons using items already captured in personal photos. Google converts an unstructured image archive into a styling and shopping service.

Verb has built a marketplace where individuals can sell personal data directly to companies, including AI firms. Users choose what to share, set a price and control which buyers receive access. Verb gives the individual a direct role in deciding how personal data is exchanged and valued.

South African app Femio helps women track gender-based financial costs and earn rewards from partners in retail, banking, education and healthcare. The app records expenses that may otherwise remain dispersed across separate purchases, then connects that record with tangible benefits.

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Personal records are being structured for payment, rewards or service access. The models differ. Verb creates an explicit market with prices and permissions. Femio connects financial tracking with partner rewards. Google Photos adds practical and commercial functions to an existing image library.

Only Verb pays individuals directly for their data. Femio provides rewards, while Google creates a service from information already stored on its platform. These differences matter because value can flow to the individual as money, discounts, access or utility.

Companies using personal information should be able to explain what they collect, how it creates value, what the individual receives and which controls remain available.

Which personal records create commercial value, who captures it, and what does the individual receive?