Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter want to make your data portable
The Data Transfer Project could give you more control of your online data.
A handful of tech giants are participating in the Data Transfer Project.
You may transfer your data from social media to other platforms soon.
Facebook, Google , Microsoft and Twitter said Friday that they're participating in the Data Transfer Project to build an easier way for people to transfer data into and out of online services.
The companies are launching this collaboration to give people more control of their online data and make it easier for them to download it and move it between services. This comes after several data-related scandals looming over the tech giants.
DTP aims to create an open-source, service-to-service data portability platform for internet users to move data between online service providers, according to the project's website. It uses different platforms' existing technology APIs and authorization methods to access data, then transfers data into a format that fits the new platform.
DTP is still in development, but tech-savvy folks can try it out via Docker and Code. Instructions on the DTP site note that you'll need API keys from the services you want to transfer data from and to.
Facebook, Google and Microsoft didn't immediately respond to requests for comments.
Twitter declined to comment beyond the blog post.