ONTO is evolving from a multi-chain wallet into a data ownership platform. Here is what that means for users, and why it starts with AI Avatars.
Why ONTO Is Making This Shift
The ONTO data wallet is here, and it changes how you relate to your own information. Every app you use collects data about you. Your preferences, your behaviour, your identity. That data gets packaged, sold, and used to train AI models, target ads, and build products. The value flows in one direction: away from you.
The AI training data market alone is projected to grow from $7.48 billion in 2025 to $52.41 billion by 2035. That growth is built on human data. The question is whether the humans producing that data should have a say in how it is used, and whether they should benefit from it.
ONTO was built on Ontology’s decentralised identity infrastructure: ONT ID for verifiable credentials, and Orange Protocol for reputation scoring and cross-chain data aggregation. Those capabilities already give users portable, self-sovereign identity across Web3. The next step is to make that identity productive: to let users contribute their data, verify it, and earn from it on their own terms.
That is the shift. The ONTO data wallet evolves Ontology’s existing identity tools into a platform that puts your data to work.
How It Works: Use, Earn, Control
ONTO’s data ownership model follows three stages. Each one builds on the last, and together they create something that has not existed in Web3 before: a user-controlled data economy.
Stage 1: Use
You submit your data to access real services that benefit you directly. The first example is AI Avatars: upload your profile information and ONTO generates a personalised AI avatar using your own data. It is not a gimmick. It is the first practical demonstration that your data has value, and that you are the one who should benefit from contributing it.
This is a deliberate inversion of the current model. Instead of platforms quietly harvesting your data in the background, you choose to contribute it, and you receive something tangible in return.
Stage 2: Earn
Once you have verified your data, it becomes more than just information sitting in a profile. It becomes something meaningful, something the ecosystem recognises as yours and rewards you for contributing. Instead of having your information silently extracted, you receive corresponding incentives for the data you choose to share.
Stage 3: Control
This is where the model reaches its full potential. Users decide which third parties can access their data, for what purpose, and under what conditions. Authorisation is granular and revocable. You might allow a gaming studio to see your play history but keep your financial data private. You might sell anonymised behavioural data to an AI training company while retaining full control over your identity credentials.
The key principle: your data, your terms, your revenue. ONTO facilitates the connection between users and data buyers, but the user always holds the keys.
The Product Vision
The vision behind the ONTO data wallet is straightforward. Today, platforms use data. Tomorrow, users should decide how data is used. The whole model shifts from passive participation to active ownership, where individuals shape where their data goes and how it gets applied.
This reframes data as something owned by users rather than something exploited by platforms. It introduces user participation into a technological equation that has, until now, largely left them out. AI Avatars are the first proof of that principle. The rest of the roadmap builds on the same foundation.
What Is in the New Release
The new ONTO update (v4.9.23) is the first release built around this vision. Here is what it includes:
AI Avatar Creation. Submit your profile data and generate a personalised AI avatar. This is the Use stage in action: your data powers a service that benefits you directly. Avatars can be static images or animated, with animated versions available via ONT or ONG payment.
Enhanced AI Profile. Your ONTO profile now functions as a structured data profile. Personal details, preferences, and activity data are organised in a way that makes them valuable and verifiable. This is the foundation for the Earn and Control stages that follow.
Data Contribution Framework. The underlying architecture for submitting, verifying, and managing your data is now in place. This release focuses on the user experience of contributing data and receiving immediate value. Future updates will expand the types of data you can contribute and introduce the full reward and authorisation systems.
How to Get Started
Once the new version is live on iOS and Android:
1. Update ONTO to the latest version from the App Store or Google Play.
2. Open your AI Profile and complete your profile information. The more data you contribute, the richer your avatar and the stronger your profile for future earning opportunities.
3. Generate your AI Avatar using the new creation tool. You can save it, regenerate it, or upgrade to an animated version.
4. Stay tuned for the next updates, which will introduce data verification, ONG rewards, and the ability to authorise data access to third parties.
What Comes Next
AI Avatars are the starting point, not the destination. Here is what is on the roadmap:
Data verification and rewards. The next step is verifying the data you submit and rewarding users for contributing verified information. This is where the Earn stage comes to life.
Third-party data authorisation. After that, the Control stage: choose which third parties can access your data, set your own terms, and revoke access whenever you want.
Campaigns and activities. Alongside each release, we will run campaigns and community activities designed to give early users additional ways to engage with the new features.
The vision is clear: a world where your data works for you, not against you. ONTO is building the tools to make that real, one feature at a time.
Download ONTO and build your profile today. The future of your data starts with you.
