This Data Privacy Day, take control of your data the 2026 way

Data Privacy Week centres on 28 January, the 45th anniversary of the day Convention 108 – the first legally binding treaty protecting privacy in the digital age - was signed. 

Convention 108 – or to give it its full title, ‘The Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data’, was opened for signature on 28 January 1981. To mark this occasion, this Data Privacy Week’s theme is ‘Take control of your data’. 

Data processing capabilities have changed beyond recognition in that time, but the new initiatives I expect us to see more of from 2026 could be just as revolutionary. I’m going to talk about the three I think everyone should be considering this Data Privacy Week.

Smart data 

Smart data – which really means making data available so it can be used for decision making – will be increasingly visible from this year. The UK government is focusing on five sectors – financial services, energy, transport, home buying and fuels (and possibly telecommunications as well) – where it believes improvements could result in a £27.8 billion boost to GDP. 

In financial services, Open Banking services have been around for a while and power a lot of the useful functionality your banking app is likely to offer you, among other things. I use it to automate mortgage overpayments, complete financial returns for a sports association I help run and get insights on my personal spending. It is hoped that unlocking similar innovations in more industries will let people do the same things they’ve always done faster and better, helping them to find time to do more. It has the potential to be genuinely game changing. 

However, smart data only works if people take control. In this context, that means improving data quality and ensuring that people understand the innovative services that are available to them and how to make the most of them. That means change so organisations need to think not only about the data and the technology but also about the change programmes needed to help them succeed. 

Most excitingly, there’s no need to wait for smart data. There are already lots of innovative organisations out there that can help you reduce your fuel and energy bills, manage your finances and more.

Agentic AI 

Agentic AI can be given the ability to plan, reason and work through multiple steps towards a goal with minimal human intervention. Examples include agents that help develop and test computer code, solve customer queries and even plan travel itineraries. 

People will happily cede that kind of control if it works, and it could be a game changer for people with executive function difficulties. However, the potential downsides are likely to concern people for a while yet. Already we have seen horror stories such as that of an elderly Malaysian couple who travelled for hours to visit the Kuak Skyride – a completely fake tourist attraction that existed only in an AI-generated video. Could an agentic AI be persuaded to purchase tickets for fake activities set up by scammers? Until people are confident that such failures are effectively prevented, they are unlikely to feel comfortable handing over control of high-stake decisions. 

Taking control in this context means developing agentic AI tools that are truly useful, and ensuring people are protected from bad decisions.

Privacy controls 

People have more privacy controls available to them than they make use of, and I expect to see more privacy options made available throughout 2026. Privacy controls are a core component of the smart data technology initiatives being developed by the UK government, and encouraging people to engage, provide consent and maintain the accuracy of their data will be a fundamental goal of the schemes. 

Many Big Tech companies offer easy‑to‑use privacy controls, prompts, and privacy centres, but these are often under‑used. My contacts at Citizens Advice often say that simply knowing the option exists is reassuring for many people; nonetheless, choosing one or two settings to actively engage with would make a great New Year’s resolution. 

• Meta provides a Privacy Checkup service that lets you see what you share, how people can find you, control your ad preferences and secure your account.
• Apple provides a Security section in the Passwords app that lets you know when passwords you have stored in the app have been compromised and helps you to change them.
• Microsoft offers a Privacy Checkup service that lets you select options like automatically clearing your browsing history every 30 days and change your Windows privacy settings.

Will you take control this Data Privacy Week? 

If you want to take control of your data – and obviously I think you should - consider what you can do with data as an individual and at work. When did you last review the innovative options out there to help you make the most of your own personal data? When did you last check whether your data is as private as you want it to be? Could reviewing what’s out there help you come up with a game changing idea to make your name at work?