Since 12 September 2025 the European Union's Data Act has applied across the member states. Most developers have never heard of it, and yet it changes how a whole class of products has to be built. If you work on connected devices or the cloud services behind them, it is worth knowing in outline.
The core idea is simple. If a product collects data while someone uses it, such as a car, a smart meter, an industrial machine or a fitness tracker, the user has a right to that data. They can get it themselves, and they can ask for it to be shared with a third party of their choosing, such as an independent repair shop. The obligations apply to the manufacturer of the product and to the provider of the related service, the app or platform that makes it work.
One part has a date that has already passed. Connected products and related services placed on the EU market after 12 September 2026 have to be designed so that the data is easily and securely available to the user by default, where relevant and technically feasible, in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format.
The Act also reaches cloud services. Providers have to make it possible for customers to switch to another provider or move back on their own servers, and from 12 January 2027 they can no longer charge for switching at all. Until then, any switching charge may not exceed the provider's own costs.
For an engineer, that turns several old shortcuts into design questions. Is there an export, or only a dashboard? Does a customer's data live in a format someone else could read? How long would it take to hand over everything for one customer? Could your team explain where that data actually lives?
You do not need to read the regulation. But if you build connected products or cloud platforms used in Europe, the export button is no longer a nice extra. It is part of the product.
Monday: ask how a customer would get all of their data out of your system, and time how long it takes.
– Asael Shinder
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