Indicative figures compiled from NordPass, DataReportal, Eurostat, and consumer cloud-storage market research.
168digital relationships
Banking
Shopping
Media
Telecom
Health
Public services
Devices
Travel
Work
Social
Trace
Mandate
Reveal
A resident, not a data subject
Meet Elias
Elias is 33, lives in Amsterdam, cycles everywhere, works across digital tools all day, keeps too many receipts, takes too many photos, and rarely thinks about the institutions quietly keeping copies of his life.
Name: Elias van DijkLocation: Amsterdam, NLCommute: Bike, everywhereMindset: Curious. Cautious. Human.
By the numbers
Elias has 168 digital relationships.
168digital relationships
Shopping & Retail27
Media & Streaming22
Work & Productivity18
Devices & Cloud15
Social & Messaging14
Banking & Finance12
Travel & Hospitality10
Mobility9
Utilities & Telecom8
Government & Public Services7
Health & Fitness6
Other / Legacy accounts20
What he values
Clarity
Control
Memory
Proof
What he forgets
Old logins
Past employers
Receipts
Photo backups
The account citizen is not a power user. He is ordinary - and that is the point.
Shelf of books & sketchbooks
orders, subscriptions, cloud notes
Film camera
photo archives, print orders, backups
Coffee grinder
retail receipts, loyalty apps
Bicycle helmet
repair tools, mobility accounts, insurance
The home is an index
Ordinary objects point to hidden records.
A home is also an index of subscriptions, movements, purchases, proofs, backups, and memory.
The account citizen's life can be reconstructed from ordinary objects because institutions keep the parallel archive.
Approximate annual personal-data footprint
What 168 Relationships Produce
A modern life leaves behind an uneven but surprisingly large data footprint. The heaviest files are not always the most meaningful records.
Photos & personal video320 GBCloud backups & device sync90 GBSocial media uploads & media45 GBWork documents & PDFs12 GBEmail & attachments8 GBMusic, messages, notes6 GBLocation history & mobility logs2 GBFinancial transactions, receipts, and statements1.2 GBHealth, fitness, and wearable data0.8 GBStreaming / shopping / ad / telemetry metadatasmall in size, large in meaning
Trailhead, not archive
Why Email Is the Best Cold Start
The inbox is not the archive itself. It is the trailhead: a practical first map of relationships created by messages, receipts, invoices, notices, resets, and confirmations.
