# Vana

> Vana is open data infrastructure for human-grounded AI. Human data moves under the permission of the person it belongs to, with a record. Vana is the open network it moves on.

## What Vana is

Vana is an open network for data portability. A person connects the accounts and services that hold their data, decides which app or AI may read which part of it, for what and for how long, and can take that permission back at any time. Every read is recorded. The value of a person's data goes to the person who created it.

Vana comes out of the MIT Media Lab. It carries the same idea that Tim Berners-Lee brought to MIT with the Solid project: control of your own data online.

Vana is known for Data Collectives, where people pool their data into sets AI could not get any other way and share in what the set earns. That is aggregation. Underneath aggregation sits what the network was built on: portability, one person's data moving to the app or AI they chose, under their permission, with a record. Aggregation is portability done by many people at once.

## How Vana works

1. You connect. Your accounts, your call.
2. You consent. Record-level permissions, revocable any time.
3. Your data serves. Any app, any AI system you choose.
4. Value flows back. To you, the source.

## The Vega upgrade (completed 21 September 2026)

The Vega upgrade is a rebuild of how the network handles permissions, so that data portability runs at the speed AI needs. It was committed to in the January 2026 Vega Roadmap.

Two concepts carry it:

- A grant is a permission: who can use which of your data, for what, and for how long. Issuing it, using it and revoking it are each recorded on the network.
- An operation is an answer computed from your data and shared without the raw data. It carries a record of where it came from (lineage). An app can ask how you slept last week and get a number, and never hold the week of sleep data.

Vana records every grant and every revocation, holds the keys so that nothing, including the user's own personal server, can decrypt data without a valid grant (protocol-governed encryption), and moves the data only when the grant says it can. End to end, that takes about 50 milliseconds in production.

Apps can sponsor fees for their users, so a person can use an app built on Vana without holding tokens or paying per read.

The addendum to the whitepaper, "The Vega Upgrade: Data Portability and Transformations" (Vana Core Developers, September 2026), sets out grants, the computed records it calls transformations, the personal server, protocol-governed encryption, fees and aggregate grants in full.

## The standard

The Personal Data Portability Protocol (PDPP) is the first open standard for how personal data moves. Vana wrote it and contributed it to the Linux Foundation to host, as a Community Specification, so that a regulator can point to it and a company can build against it. Vana Foundation is the steward of PDPP and Vana is its first implementation, the one carrying the volume today. Vana Foundation is a member of Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust (LFDT). The specification is at pdpp.dev.

## Who does what

- Vana Foundation is the neutral steward of the network and of PDPP.
- OpenDataLabs (one word) is the core contributor to Vana. It builds and operates the products governments and industry run on Vana, including Context Gateway. Site: opendatalabs.com.
- Anna Kazlauskas is co-founder and CEO of OpenDataLabs. Art Abal is co-founder and Managing Director of Vana Foundation.

## The network by the numbers

1.5 million users, more than 20 million transactions, and more than 100 apps and Data Collectives built by the community. More than 40 data portability apps shipped through the Vana Cup within a month of the data portability beta.

## The token

VANA is the token the network runs on. Every read of a person's data under a live grant carries a fee, paid in VANA or in stablecoins such as USDC. Reads grow with how much the network is used, not with how many people sign up. Stakers back the operators that carry the data and are paid from the fees the network earns. The supply of VANA and the rate at which new tokens are issued are unchanged by the Vega upgrade.

On 28 September 2026 staking extends to the data portability infrastructure itself, with a token economics paper and a live dashboard of reads, permissions and apps at token.vana.org.

## Community

The Vana community programme lives at community.vana.org: one identity across everything built on Vana.

## Documents

- How Vana works: https://vana.org/learn
- Whitepaper, "An Open Protocol for Data Sovereignty" (December 2024): https://vana.org/papers/vana-whitepaper-dec-2024.pdf
- Addendum, "The Vega Upgrade: Data Portability and Transformations" (September 2026): https://vana.org/papers/vega-addendum-sep-2026.pdf
- Network documentation: https://docs.vana.org
- PDPP specification: https://pdpp.dev
- Blog: https://vana.org/blog
- Community: https://community.vana.org

## Terminology (use these words)

- "Vana", never "vana". "AI", never "ai". "Web3", never "web3".
- "Data Collective" and "Data Collectives", never "DataDAO".
- "The Vega upgrade", never "Vega Part I".
- "Operation" for a record computed from a person's data and shared without the raw data; the addendum calls the same thing a transformation; older material may say "derivative".
- "OpenDataLabs", one word, never "Open Data Labs".
- "Linux Foundation" or "Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust (LFDT)", never "Linux".
- "Steward of PDPP" and "first implementation", never "Vana's standard" or "the only implementation".
- "Stakers are paid from the fees the network earns", never "holders earn revenue", "dividend", "yield" or "passive income".
- "Data portability", not "serving" or "user-owned".

---

# Site pages, full text

## Page: Home (https://vana.org)

# Your data should be yours

Vana is open data infrastructure for human-grounded AI.
Control the data you create. Choose what it serves.

- For you · 01 · Your data works for everyone but you. · Reclaim it (https://vana.org/use)
- For builders · 02 · Every app starts from zero. Yours doesn’t have to. · Build on Vana (https://vana.org/build)
- For the movement · 03 · This only works as a movement. · Join in (https://vana.org/participate)
- For the curious · 04 · How does this actually work? · See the mechanics (https://vana.org/learn)

## Updates

[Read the blog](https://vana.org/blog)

- 15 October 2026 · Vana is Stripe for data · The new Vana App sits behind the apps you use and moves your data between them with your permission, with a record. · Read the post (https://vana.org/blog/vana-is-stripe-for-data)
- 12 October 2026 · Agents Need Your Data. Who Moves It? Notes From Builder Nights Seoul · Two panels in Seoul on what AI agents need, and why institutions are ready for decentralized technology. · Read the post (https://vana.org/blog/builder-nights-seoul-agents-need-your-data)
- 7 October 2026 · Vana Sits Down With Singapore’s Leaders on the Future of AI · Singapore’s National AI Strategy calls for trusted access to people’s data. Vana sat down with Singapore’s business and government leaders at the Tanglin Club on how to make it move. · Read the post (https://vana.org/blog/vana-singapore-leaders-future-of-ai)

---

## Page: Learn (https://vana.org/learn)

Learn - how it works

# How Vana works.

01

You connect. Your accounts, your call.

02

You consent. Record-level permissions, revocable any time.

03

Your data serves. Any app, any AI system you choose.

04

Value flows back. To you, the source.

For full details, refer to the [docs](https://docs.vana.org)

- The Vana Protocol · WHITEPAPER (https://vana.org/papers/vana-whitepaper-dec-2024.pdf)

## [The whitepaper](https://vana.org/papers/vana-whitepaper-dec-2024.pdf)

The full thesis. Where this is going and why.

[Read it](https://vana.org/papers/vana-whitepaper-dec-2024.pdf)

- The Vega Upgrade · ADDENDUM (https://vana.org/papers/vega-addendum-sep-2026.pdf)

## [The Vega addendum](https://vana.org/papers/vega-addendum-sep-2026.pdf)

What changed in the Vega upgrade. Grants, transformations, encryption and fees, now that the data moves.

[Read it](https://vana.org/papers/vega-addendum-sep-2026.pdf)

For more information, please refer to the [network docs](https://docs.vana.org/network/vana-l1)

## In the press

[Press kit](https://vana.org/press-kit)

- LF Decentralized Trust · Introducing PDP-Connect: a new personal data consent and authorization specification lab · August 26, 2026 (https://www.lfdecentralizedtrust.org/blog/introducing-pdp-connect-a-new-personal-data-consent-and-authorization-specification-lab)
- Quartz · Data ownership laws remain unresolved despite GDPR and CCPA · May 27, 2026 (https://qz.com/data-ownership-legal-fight-gdpr-ccpa-ai-052126)
- Quartz · The price of AI training data, from $5M to $250M · May 27, 2026 (https://qz.com/ai-training-data-pricing-licensing-deals-market-052126)
- Quartz · The AI data gold rush is here and Corporate America is ready · March 12, 2026 (https://qz.com/ai-data-gold-rush-corporate-america)
- Axios · New wallet app lets users store their own training data · September 22, 2025 (https://www.axios.com/2025/09/22/ai-training-data-vana-app-mit)
- Crypto News · Vana Foundation launches Playground for AI devs with 12.7M data points · September 10, 2025 (https://crypto.news/vana-foundation-launches-playground-for-ai-devs-with-12-7m-data-points/)
- WIRED · These Startups Are Building Advanced AI Models Without Data Centers · April 30, 2025 (https://www.wired.com/story/these-startups-are-building-advanced-ai-models-over-the-internet-with-untapped-data/?utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_brand=wired&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social)
- MIT News · Vana is letting users own a piece of the AI models trained on their data · April 3, 2025 (https://news.mit.edu/2025/vana-lets-users-own-piece-ai-models-trained-on-their-data-0403)

## The Vana Foundation

The neutral steward of the network.

[Press kit](https://vana.org/press-kit)[Contact](mailto:support@vanafoundation.org)

[support@vanafoundation.org](mailto:support@vanafoundation.org)

---

## Page: Use (https://vana.org/use)

Use - the Vana app

# Make your data work for you.

Connect your accounts. See everything you’ve created. Decide what it serves, and earn when it creates value.

[Download the app](https://app.vana.org/download)[Open the web app](https://app.vana.org)

owned by source

## Explore the apps built on Vana

Building something? Get the docs, Discord, and GitHub on the [Build page](https://vana.org/build)

- Reddit Data DAO · Own your Reddit history and earn. (https://www.rdatadao.org/)
- DataPIG · Your investment data, working for you. (https://datapig.xyz/)
- MindDAO · Decode your well-being. (https://mind-dao.xyz/)
- Barbarika · User-owned AI world models for robots. (https://www.barbarika.foundation/)
- AsteriskDAO · Backfill women’s health data gaps. (https://asteriskdao.xyz)
- Mind Network · Encrypt everything you touch. (https://www.mindnetwork.xyz/)
- Intra · Connect your wearables, earn rewards. (https://www.intra.so/)
- VanaTensor · Human-verified data for smarter models. (https://www.vanatensor.com/)
- Auto DLP · Make your vehicle data work for you. (https://www.dlplabs.io/)
- Voogle · Turn your data into insights. (https://voogle.io/)
- dFusion · Verify the private social web. (https://www.dfusion.ai/socialtruthdlp)

---

## Page: Build (https://vana.org/build)

Build - on the network

# Every app starts from zero. Yours doesn’t have to.

Start with real human context, served with consent, in a single authorization.

The toolkit

## Read. Fork. Ask.

- Docs · Build a Vana app · The whole path, from local setup to mainnet. · Read the guide (https://docs.vana.org/build-a-vana-app)

- Discord · Ask the builders · Where the people building Vana answer questions. · Join the Discord (https://discord.gg/vanaofficial)

- GitHub · Read the source · The protocol and the SDKs, with nothing behind a login. · Browse the code (https://github.com/vana-com)

- Docs · 01 · Build a Vana app · The whole path, from local setup to mainnet. · Read the guide (https://docs.vana.org/build-a-vana-app)
- Discord · 02 · Ask the builders · Where the people building Vana answer questions. · Join the Discord (https://discord.gg/vanaofficial)
- GitHub · 03 · Read the source · The protocol and the SDKs, with nothing behind a login. · Browse the code (https://github.com/vana-com)

---

## Page: Participate (https://vana.org/participate)

Participate - the movement

# This only works as a movement.

1.5 million people are taking their data back.

## Programs and resources

Cohorts, grants, and guides for the committed.

- Cohort · OPENS SOON · Builder Cohort 2 · Eight weeks building on the network with the core team. Applications open soon. · Learn more (https://www.vana.org/academy)

- Grants · ROLLING · Data Grants · Funding for tools, Data Collectives, and research that move the network forward. · Read the guide (https://docs.vana.org/resources/ecosystem)

## Events

Where the movement meets.

[See all events on Luma](https://luma.com/vana)

## Find us

- @vana · Instagram · Where everyday people share what they’re reclaiming. (https://www.instagram.com/vanahq)
- discord.gg/vana · Discord · Builders, sources, and stewards. (https://discord.gg/vanaofficial)
- @vana · Network updates and the argument in public. (https://x.com/vana)
- @vanahq · YouTube · Talks, recaps, and explainers. (https://www.youtube.com/@vanahq)
Monthly · Newsletter · Sign up for the monthly.

---

## Page: Blog (https://vana.org/blog)

From the Foundation

# Blog

- 15 October 2026 · Vana is Stripe for data · The new Vana App sits behind the apps you use and moves your data between them with your permission, with a record. · Read the post (https://vana.org/blog/vana-is-stripe-for-data)

* * *

- 12 October 2026 · Agents Need Your Data. Who Moves It? Notes From Builder Nights Seoul · Two panels in Seoul on what AI agents need, and why institutions are ready for decentralized technology. · Read the post (https://vana.org/blog/builder-nights-seoul-agents-need-your-data)
- 7 October 2026 · Vana Sits Down With Singapore’s Leaders on the Future of AI · Singapore’s National AI Strategy calls for trusted access to people’s data. Vana sat down with Singapore’s business and government leaders at the Tanglin Club on how to make it move. · Read the post (https://vana.org/blog/vana-singapore-leaders-future-of-ai)
- 28 September 2026 · The Vega upgrade: expanded staking and tokenomics · Today three things go live as part of the Vega upgrade: expanded staking, the paper VANA: The Asset Behind an Open Data Economy, and a public dashboard. · Read the post (https://vana.org/blog/vega-upgrade-staking-and-tokenomics)
- 22 September 2026 · The Vega upgrade is live. Data portability is now first class on Vana. · Grants, operations and reads in about 50 milliseconds: data portability at the speed AI needs. · Read the post (https://vana.org/blog/the-vega-upgrade-is-live)
- 8 September 2026 · What happened when Vana met the world stage at Geneva · A recap of the GDC session on 3 September: who was on stage, what was argued, and where the standard goes next · Read the post (https://vana.org/blog/pdpp-geneva-recap)
- 19 August 2026 · The Vana Cup: 43 Apps Built on the Context AI Is Missing · Forty-three apps, three weeks, and 18,000 people who brought their own data. · Read the post (https://vana.org/blog/the-vana-cup-43-apps)

- 17 August 2026 · Connecting Businesses With Real Human Context in the World of Agentic Commerce (https://vana.org/blog/real-human-context-in-agentic-commerce)
- 11 August 2026 · AI Without Context Sucks (https://vana.org/blog/ai-without-context-sucks)
- 28 July 2026 · The Vana Cup Is On (https://vana.org/blog/the-vana-cup-is-on)
- 17 July 2026 · Two Cities Down: Vana Vibes Is Picking Up Steam (https://vana.org/blog/two-cities-down-vana-vibes-is-picking-up-steam)
- 8 July 2026 · Vana acquires Memory Protocol team as it launches groundbreaking Personal Server and Memory Upgrades to the Vana App (https://vana.org/blog/own-your-ai-memory)
- 29 June 2026 · Anna Kazlauskas at ZEG: data as a digital representation of self (https://vana.org/blog/anna-kazlauskas-at-zeg-data-as-a-digital-representation-of-self)
- 22 June 2026 · What AI literacy looks like for women in public life (https://vana.org/blog/what-ai-literacy-looks-like-for-women-in-public-life)
- 26 February 2026 · DataConnect: Open-Source Data Portability (https://vana.org/blog/dataconnect-open-source-data-portability)
- 17 December 2025 · How the Vana App Lets You Reclaim and Monetize Your Data (https://vana.org/blog/how-the-vana-app-lets-you-reclaim-and-monetize-your-data)
- 15 December 2025 · Vana Sponsors Season 3 of The People’s AI: The Decentralized AI Podcast (https://vana.org/blog/vana-sponsors-season-3-of-the-peoples-ai-the-decentralized-ai-podcast)
- 9 December 2025 · What Is Data Collection? Methods Companies Use (and How You Can Take Control) (https://vana.org/blog/what-is-data-collection)
- 5 November 2025 · What is Data Sovereignty? Personal Data Ownership in the Digital Age (https://vana.org/blog/what-is-data-sovereignty)
- 21 October 2025 · Introducing Vana Vibe Apps (https://vana.org/blog/introducing-vana-vibe-apps)
- 15 October 2025 · What Is Personal Data Ownership? Why It Matters for Your Digital Rights (https://vana.org/blog/what-is-personal-data-ownership)
- 7 October 2025 · Vana at Korea Blockchain Week: Turning Spotify Data Into Discovery, One Flavor at a Time (https://vana.org/blog/posts-vana-at-korea-blockchain-week-2025)
- 22 September 2025 · Introducing the Vana App: Own Your Digital Self and Start Earning with VanaXP (https://vana.org/blog/introducing-vana-app)
- 9 September 2025 · Introducing Vana Playground: Unlocking the Age of Data Capital (https://vana.org/blog/vana-playground-launch)
- 2 July 2025 · Everyone’s Talking About Data Collectives. Here’s How to Get Involved. (https://vana.org/blog/everyones-talking-about-data-collectives-heres-how-to-get-involved)
- 22 May 2025 · Vana Brings Data Tokens to Solana’s Onchain Capital Markets (https://vana.org/blog/trading-vrc20-data-tokens-on-solana)
- 13 May 2025 · MIT Decentralized AI: Internet of Agents Summit (https://vana.org/blog/mit-decentralized-ai-summit)
- 8 May 2025 · Introducing Vana Academy: Calling the New Data Economy Innovators (https://vana.org/blog/introducing-vana-academy)
- 31 March 2025 · VRC-20: Establishing the Financial System for User-Owned Data (https://vana.org/blog/vrc-20-future-of-data-finance)
- 31 March 2025 · Introducing Data Validator Staking: Powering Data Markets for the Future (https://vana.org/blog/introducing-data-validator-staking)
- 26 March 2025 · Vana and Flower Labs Partner to Build the World’s First User-Owned AI Model (https://vana.org/blog/vana-flower-labs-partnership)
- 5 March 2025 · Vana AI Data Summit Recap: Pioneering the Future of User-Owned AI at EthDenver (https://vana.org/blog/vana-ai-data-summit-recap)
- 8 January 2025 · Breaking Down Data Walls: How Vana is Building the Future of User-Owned AI (https://vana.org/blog/breaking-down-data-walls)
- 3 December 2024 · Vana: The First Open Protocol for AI Data Sovereignty (https://vana.org/blog/vana-whitepaper)
- 20 November 2024 · Vana’s Next Phase: Accelerating the AI Data Revolution (https://vana.org/blog/accelerating-ai-data-revolution)
- 10 November 2024 · Vana Brings the AI Data Revolution to Devcon Week 2024 (https://vana.org/blog/vana-brings-the-revolution-to-devcon)
- 6 November 2024 · NEW Partnership Announcement: Vana x Reclaim (https://vana.org/blog/reclaim)
- 18 September 2024 · Vana Raises Funding to Build User-Owned AI and Overcome the Data Wall (https://vana.org/blog/vana-raises-funding-to-build-user-owned-ai-and-overcome-the-data-wall)
- 10 September 2024 · New Partnership Announcement: Vana and Autonomys Network Partner to Realize a Vision of a Decentralized AI Stack (https://vana.org/blog/new-partnership-announcement-vana-and-autonomys-network-partner-to-realize-a-vision-of-a-decentralized-ai-stack)
- 26 August 2024 · New Partnership Announcement: Vana and Reppo Partner to Revolutionize Data-Driven Risk and Reputation Models (https://vana.org/blog/vana-protocol-and-reppo-network-announce-strategic-partnership-to-revolutionize-data-driven-risk-and-reputation-models)
- 1 August 2024 · Model Influence Functions: Measuring Data Quality (https://vana.org/blog/model-influence-functions-measuring-data-quality)
- 31 July 2024 · Open Source AI Summit: Empowering the Future of User-Owned AI (https://vana.org/blog/open-source-ai-summit)
- 11 June 2024 · Introducing the Satori Testnet for User-Owned Data (https://vana.org/blog/introducing-the-satori-testnet)
- 7 June 2024 · Vana partners with the largest AI Hackathon in the APAC to date. (https://vana.org/blog/vana-partners-with-the-largest-ai-hackathon-in-the-apac-to-date)
- 30 May 2024 · DeAI Day in Austin: A Dynamic Panel Discussion on the Future of Decentralized AI (https://vana.org/blog/deai-day-in-austin-a-dynamic-panel-discussion-on-the-future-of-decentralized-ai)
- 25 May 2024 · Participation Summary at the DeAI Society Event: Building the New Internet (https://vana.org/blog/participation-summary-at-the-deai-society-event-building-the-new-internet)
- 15 March 2024 · Anna Kazlauskas, Creator of Vana Protocol, on AI and Autonomous Agents at ETH Denver (https://vana.org/blog/vana-ceo-anna-kazlausks-on-ai-and-autonomous-agents-at-eth-denver)
- 12 March 2024 · Data Privacy is a Lie (https://vana.org/blog/data-privacy-is-a-lie)