How Much Is Your Data Worth?

A calculation experiment shows how much money social networks earn from our screen time — per minute, day, month, and year.

In just a few years, social media platforms have radically changed our lives. They've become a means of communication, news channel, TV, diary, dating platform, and virtual meeting place.

• Two thirds of Germans use one or more services from the big players Google, Meta, Twitter, and TikTok every day.

The regular offering of the best-known social networks is free for users, and yet the internet giants generate annual revenues in the billions. Meta closed its 2021 financial year with 118 billion US dollars in revenue. In the same period, TikTok generated more than 58 billion US dollars, and Twitter achieved around five billion US dollars in revenue.          

How such sums are possible has long ceased to be a secret. The platforms finance themselves mainly by selling targeted ad placements and commercially exploiting their users' data. Some social networks also sell data sets directly to third parties. The platforms grant themselves the right to do so in their terms of use.

• The billions in revenue alone make clear how valuable our personal data is.

Consumers are part of a modern barter deal: comprehensive digital tracking in exchange for free use of the platforms.

Personal Data as a Gold Mine: Financial Statements Reveal Revenue per User

Personal data is the new gold, which is why the boom of social networks and media is the gold rush of the 21st century. That leads us to the question: what is my data worth? How much money do companies like Meta, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat earn with their users and with every minute they spend on the platform? Information and figures hidden deep in the companies' quarterly reports and financial statements provide answers. Our data analysts at heyData examined them and extracted the so-called average revenue per user (ARPU). On this basis, and with the help of further data such as average screen time, we were able to publish a small calculation experiment that shows how much social media and networks earn with our data — and thus also answer the question: What is our data worth?

This Is How Much Our Data Is Worth

• After one year of tracking and with average screen time, Meta's platforms market the personal data collected from a single user for around 200 euros.
• With every minute a user spends on Facebook or Instagram, the platforms earn around two cents.
• Twitter, TikTok, and Snapchat need to keep users on the platform for at least two minutes to earn one cent. YouTube even needs five minutes of screen time to generate one cent.
• Users who spend more than 33 minutes a day on Facebook or more than 29 minutes a day on Instagram generate higher revenues for Meta. That's why social networks try to keep their users on the platform for as long as possible. Meta earns around two cents per minute of its users' screen time.
• Meta has perfected the marketing of personal data, as the comparison of annual revenues in particular shows. While Facebook and Instagram generate around 200 euros per user per year, TikTok currently achieves just under 66 euros, Twitter around 54 euros, and YouTube only just under 29 euros per user per year.