As billions more sensors and other IoT-enabled devices come online, the question of who owns the data – and what they do with it – is about to get a lot more complicated.

In a world where everything is connected – by 2020 there will be an estimated 25 billion Internet connected “things” – many previously opaque aspects of our lives will generate data. And that data has tremendous value, but far-reaching ramifications.

When companies work with IBM, they retain all data rights; this doesn't appear to be the case with other leading cloud and artificial intelligence providers. Anxious for data monetization, these new service providers are demanding data rights to support their advertising and commerce business models, and data ownership - between the end user, the device manufacturer and the service provider - becomes murkier.

That’s because data is often - or should be - the end game for manufacturers. It is a natural resource that fuels the new future, like oil, and connected devices are the drills to get at that data. The power of data to reveal new insights attuned to our personal behavior enables product companies to become service companies that link to an ecosystem of partners. And consumers are trusting the device manufacturers to treat them (and their data) with respect.

Your commuting habits, your physical activity down to heart beats, the stores you visit, the food you eat, how much water your dishwasher consumes – all of it will reveal your unique digital footprint that companies and governments will ostensibly use to improve experiences, and run for effective businesses.

To some, this may not be a big deal. From Facebook to Fitbit, we are already sharing personal data with an array of companies. After all, to get personalized and faster services, we may need to give up a little information. But how much are we willing to share, with whom, and who ultimately claims ownership - or the more altruistic stewardship - of that data?

For example, people may be OK with a refrigerator that automatically orders groceries from a food delivery service when they run low. But what if the device also shared how much beer they drink or how much junk food they eat with their doctor or insurance company? What about a connected car that shares your average commuting speed with the police or auto insurers?

And to make it even trickier, there are numerous sources of data that are aggregated, analyzed, sliced and diced, and stored. Determining the exact provenance of the data across of value chain of connected devices is not a straightforward task. Take the example of a connected home that has a Whirlpool washing machine, Samsung TV, and Meile refrigerator. To reap the benefits of a connected home, all those devices should work in harmony, but this means sharing data. Whose data is it anyhow?

As the number of connected things increase, so will the data complexity. Consumers should be concerned about their digital footprint in this world; manufacturers should be clear on data ownership when their product is being collecting it. And service providers should do just that - provide a service; and not be coy or opaque about where data they are entrusted with is being stored, how it will be used in their other businesses. Only with this level of understanding and trust will consumers (and the governments that protect them) embrace a connected world.

This is the first in a series of articles I’ll be writing about big topics for #CES2018. I’ll also be writing about how companies can use data for:

To learn more about taking advantage of IoT, read The Business of Things: Designing business models to win in the cognitive IoT.