Vana

Vana is an open protocol designed to make personal data portable and user-owned across applications, enabling individuals to connect, move, control, and build with their own data. At its core, Vana operates as a decentralized infrastructure that breaks down data silos—commonly known as "walled gardens"—where user information is typically trapped within individual platforms or services. By providing a standardized framework for data interoperability, Vana allows users to link their existing accounts from various online services (such as social media, cloud storage, productivity tools, and health trackers) through applications built on the protocol. Once connected, users can selectively manage permissions, deciding which data points are shared with which applications or AI tools. This granular control is exercised via a permission dashboard where individuals see exactly what data is being accessed and can revoke access at any time. A key function of Vana is the ability to "move" context: users can carry their personal data—like preferences, conversation history, documents, or behavioral patterns—across different AI tools, personal assistants, or other applications that participate in the network. For example, a user could link their email history, calendar events, and note-taking app, then allow an AI assistant to read that context to provide personalized recommendations, without needing to re-enter information or manually transfer files. The protocol ensures that data remains encrypted and under the user’s cryptographic control during transit, and only authorized applications can access the specific datasets permitted by the user. For developers, Vana provides a set of APIs and software development kits to build applications that leverage real user context from day one.