Right to data portability — take your data with you (Art. 20)

The right to portability (Art. 20) is the switching right: leave a service without leaving your history behind. What it covers: data you provided — profile details, uploads, and observed data like your listening history, GPS traces or transaction log — where processing runs on consent or contract and is automated. It does not cover data the company derived about you (scores, inferences); for those use the right of access. Format: structured, commonly used, machine-readable — CSV/JSON, not a 400-page PDF. Where technically feasible you can have it transmitted directly to another provider. Where it bites: bank transaction exports, streaming playlists and history, fitness and health-app records, email and cloud archives, marketplace order histories. Big platforms hide takeout tools deep in settings — they exist because of this article. Fresh reinforcements: the Data Act (2023/2854, applying since 12 September 2025) extends switching and access duties to connected devices and cloud services, and the DMA forces gatekeepers to offer continuous, real-time portability. How to ask: “Under Article 20 GDPR I request my data in a machine-readable format [or: transmitted directly to X].” One month, free, same escalation route as every right if they stall.