Datapods review: what to know before you start

01What is Datapods?

Datapods is first of all a free app that shows you what companies know about you. You connect accounts such as Google, Amazon, TikTok or your Meta Account, and the app shows you what those services have stored about you. Many people are surprised by how much it is.

Earning money is an extra on top. If you want to, you get a share of the data dividend and can take part in surveys or AI interviews. The app has four tabs for this: Datapod, Daily, Shield and Earn.

02Who is behind Datapods?

Datapods is run by a registered company, Datapods GmbH. All the details are in the imprint.

Company

Datapods GmbH, Kölnstraße 179b, 53111 Bonn, Germany, registered at the Bonn local court (Amtsgericht Bonn) under HRB 29217.

Founded

August 2024, entered in the commercial register on 20 September 2024.

Managing directors

Jakob Endler, Lukas Stein, Finn Rübo and David Goldschmidt.

Market research

General Evidence is the market research arm of Datapods GmbH and funds the data dividend. Its panel has 25,000+ active panelists.

Contact

By email to kontakt@datapods.app or through the contact form.

The team was around before the company. In May 2023 we won Deutsche Telekom's T-Challenge, and at the end of 2023 around €270,000 came in from the Start-up Transfer.NRW programme. Press coverage includes the General-Anzeiger Bonn in December 2024 and WirtschaftsWoche, which named us its start-up of the week in June 2025 (both in German).

03How does Datapods work?

This is how you get from download to your first data dividend:

1. 1Download the app and sign up. Datapods is available for iPhone and Android.
2. 2Connect your accounts. Google, Amazon or TikTok, for example. You then see what these services have stored about you.
3. 3Connect Google and fill in your profile. Once that's done, you get your data dividend.

Everything else about earning is in the Earn tab.

04Why doesn't everyone get the same amount?

The data dividend is different for everyone. It depends on how many sources you connect, how much data those accounts hold, whether the data is usable, and whether you belong to a group that research currently needs. Because demand from studies changes, your dividend can also vary a little from day to day.

Some people find the dividend too low. We see that in the store reviews and in the depotstudent.de review (in German). We keep working to raise the data dividend as far as we can. But it's only one way to earn. If you qualify for a study, AI interviews can pay noticeably more. On top of that there are surveys and other offers in the Earn tab, which the next section covers.

05What ways are there to earn money?

You'll find all of them in the Earn tab:

Data Dividend

Your share for the data you've connected.

AI interview

Studies by invitation, paid noticeably better than the data dividend.

Open Offers

Surveys, data offers and quests.

Games

Android only, unlocked separately.

An AI interview is a conversation for a study that you have right in the app. When a study fits you, an AI interview card appears in the Earn tab. You tap 'Start interview' and choose whether to take part with 'Camera' or 'Voice only'. What an interview pays depends on the study. We can't promise whether or how often you'll be invited.

06How do payouts work?

Payouts go to PayPal, in euros. You can usually cash out from €10, and some perks in the app lower that threshold. You start the payout in the app, and from there it runs automatically. The money normally arrives within 24 hours. It only takes longer if we hold a payout because we suspect fraud or a duplicate account.

07How much does Datapods cost?

The app is free. Connecting accounts, looking at your data and everything in the Earn tab cost you nothing. The only paid subscription in the app is Datapods Shield.

Shield sends deletion requests to around 50 data brokers on your behalf and repeats them every 90 days. Shield is free too, as long as you have at least three data sources connected. Otherwise you subscribe in the app and see the price before you buy. If you drop below three sources, the free protection ends after about eight days. There's more on the Shield page.

08Is Datapods safe?

We never pass on raw data. Market researchers only receive aggregated results.

Your data is encrypted with AES-256 at rest and with TLS in transit. It is processed and stored on servers in the EU, in Amsterdam and Frankfurt. All the details are in the app privacy policy.

Before you start, you can check these points yourself:

• Imprint: the company, address and commercial register entry are in the imprint.
• Connections: in the menu under 'Data Protection' and 'Connections' you can see which sources are connected.
• Privacy policy: it explains which service providers process which data.
• Deleting: you delete your account in the app with 'Delete Account'.

09How do you revoke access to a source?

You can remove any connection at any time:

1. 1Open the menu. Tap 'Data Protection', then 'Connections'.
2. 2Choose the source. Google, Amazon or TikTok, for example.
3. 3End access. For Google, Gmail, Outlook, Apple and LinkedIn, tap 'Revoke Access'. For TikTok, Amazon and Meta, tap 'Disconnect'.

After that, no new data is fetched from that source. If you disconnect Google, your data dividend ends. If you have fewer than three sources connected, free Shield ends after about eight days.

If you want to remove everything, delete your whole account with 'Delete Account'.

10What do users praise and criticise?

Most of our ratings come from the German stores. On the German App Store, Datapods has 4.6 out of 5 stars from 2,331 ratings, and on Google Play in Germany 4.3 out of 5 from over 5,000 reviews. Viewed from the UK, Google Play shows 4.1 out of 5, and the UK App Store shows 4.3 out of 5 from 13 ratings. All figures are as of 28 October 2026.

These points come up in the English-language reviews:

Here are some English-language reviews, word for word: