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Personal data in TVDE: what the law requires of platforms and who sees what

Every TVDE trip generates data about the passenger, the driver, the car and the route. The new law changes a lot here: it makes data protection a licensing condition, creates a data-sharing platform at the IMT and regulates video. Here is only what the law says.

The short answer

TVDE platforms must comply with data protection law and, under the new law, that compliance becomes a requirement for holding a licence. They must keep activity records and complaints for two years, and they are required to share with the IMT (Portugal’s transport authority) the data needed to verify operators, drivers and vehicles. The AMT, the AT (tax authority), Social Security and the security forces also access that data platform, each with its own profile. Many technical details are left to an implementing regulation.

What already existed in 2018

The original law already had two data protection rules, which remain without substantive change. Article 19(4) says that platform operation "complies with national and European law on the collection and protection of personal data and other sensitive information to which they have access in the course of their activity, notably information on the history of routes taken". The legislator singled out route history, and rightly so: it is among the most revealing data about a person’s life.

Article 20(2) requires that the verification and certification of technological systems, as regards data protection, be done by an audit under the supervision of the National Data Protection Commission. And the CNPD has been, since 2018, one of the supervisory bodies of the regime (article 24(h)).

What is new in 2026

Data protection as a licensing condition. The new article 17-A defines the platform’s technological capacity, which is a licensing requirement for the platform operator (article 17(4)(e)). Among the requirements are "compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation" (para. 2(c)) and "access by supervisory bodies to the strictly necessary information" (item (d)). Platforms already licensed have 120 days from entry into force to demonstrate this capacity (article 4(1) of Law no. 59/2026).

Express minimisation. Several new rules limit data to what is strictly necessary. The platform checks the requirements "on the basis of the strictly necessary information" (article 20(6)). The QR code on the TVDE sticker only confirms four items about the car, with no personal data about the driver (article 12(14)).

what is kept	for how long	legal basis	new or old
Activity records of operators, drivers and vehicles	2 years	article 13(3)	already existed in 2018
Complaints and the related procedure	at least 2 years from the complaint	article 19(3)	already existed in 2018
Driver working, driving and rest times	not set by the law	article 20(3) and 17-A(2)(b)	record already existed; now a licensing requirement
Video recording images	maximum 30 days, unless there is an incident	article 19-A(9)	new in 2026

Retention: two years for records and complaints

Article 13(3) requires platforms to keep, for two years, the activity records of operators, drivers and vehicles, organised by the driver’s unique registration number. Article 19(3) requires the platform operator to keep a record of complaints and the related procedure for no less than two years from the complaint. Both rules date from 2018.

One note: the 2018 law had a specific fine for failing to keep the activity records of article 13(3). In the new list in article 25(2) we found no equivalent item, although the obligation remains. Failing to record complaints, on the other hand, still carries its own fine (item (z)).

The IMT data-sharing platform

This is the biggest new feature. Article 20-A creates a platform, provided by the IMT, "for the purposes of validation, security, monitoring, supervision and verification of compliance with the applicable legal provisions". Platform operators must join, and it is up to them to ensure the connection, transmission and updating of the data (para. 2).

The shared data cover the information needed to validate operators, drivers and vehicles: "licences, certificates, professional permits, registration plates, records, mandatory periodic inspections, insurance and other legally required conditions" (para. 3).

Access is by profile. Under para. 4, the IMT, the AMT, the AT, the ISS, the security forces and other competent entities access it, each to the information needed for its functions, "with differentiated access profiles". For the AT and the ISS, paras. 5 and 6 allow access to or receipt of information to check tax and social security obligations, including the tax and operational identification of active platforms, operators, drivers and vehicles, their associations and periods of activity, under an implementing regulation.

Paragraph 7 leaves the technical side to an implementing regulation: data to be transmitted, deadlines, formats, access profiles, access control, operation logs, audit trails, encryption, retention and deletion. That regulation has not been published. How it works in detail is onthe IMT data platform.

How long does the IMT keep this data?

The law does not say. Retention and deletion of the data on the sharing platform are expressly left to the implementing regulation of article 20-A(7). Until then, there is no known legal period.

Video recording

Article 19-A allows platforms to offer image recording inside the car, for safety only, switched off by default and accepted trip by trip by the passenger and the driver. Recording sound is prohibited. The images are encrypted and inaccessible to the platform operator, the TVDE operator, the driver and the passenger; only authorities can access them and they are deleted after 30 days at most. The platform operator is the data controller. Facial recognition and use for workplace monitoring, pricing or advertising are prohibited. The details are in video recording in TVDE cars.

What this means for the passenger

On data, the TVDE law guarantees the passenger:

that route history is treated as sensitive information (article 19(4));
the right to travel without video recording, at no extra cost (article 19-A(4));
that their complaints are recorded and must be investigated (article 19(3)).

There is also a change that goes the other way: with the repeal of former article 19(5), passengers can now be rated by drivers (article 19(2)(c)). The topic has its own page atpassenger ratings.

Beyond the TVDE law, the GDPR applies, which generally recognises rights such as access, rectification, erasure and objection, with limits. Requests go to the platform and, in case of disagreement, you can complain to the CNPD.

What this means for the driver

Of the three, the driver is the one who exposes the most data. The app must show the passenger their identification, with the unique registration number and a photo (article 19(1)(e)). The platform records their working, driving and rest times (article 20(3)), keeps their activity for two years and sends the IMT the information to check the certificate and driving licence. The AT and the ISS may learn their periods of activity.

On the other hand, the law gives them some guarantees: video images cannot be used for workplace monitoring or performance assessment (article 19-A(10)), and entities’ access to the data platform is limited to what is strictly necessary and by profile. When the IMT obtains data on its own initiative from other public bodies, the person concerned provides the data needed for the lookup and, where legally required, their consent (article 20-B(3)).

Who supervises and what penalties apply

The CNPD supervises the data protection side, alongside the IMT, the AMT and the other entities in article 24. Article 25(5) clarifies that the TVDE regime is without prejudice to the special data protection penalty regimes. Within the TVDE law itself, failing to comply with the duties linked to the sharing platform, including reporting inaccurate, incomplete or outdated data, is an administrative offence (article 25(2)(aa)), with a fine of 5000 to 44 000 euros for companies.

Frequently asked questions

Do TVDE platforms have to comply with the GDPR?

Yes, and the new law reinforces it. Article 19(4) already required compliance with national and European data protection law. Now compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation also becomes a requirement of the platform’s technological capacity (article 17-A(2)(c)), which is a licensing condition.

Who can consult the data on the IMT data-sharing platform?

The IMT, the AMT, the Tax and Customs Authority, the Social Security Institute, the security forces and other competent entities, each with a different access profile according to its powers (article 20-A(4)). Platforms use it to verify operators, drivers and vehicles.

Can I ask the platform to delete my trip history?

The GDPR generally provides a right to erasure, but with limits, notably when retention is required by law. The TVDE law requires activity records to be kept for two years and complaints for at least two years. An erasure request may therefore not cover everything. Send the request to the platform and, if you are not satisfied, you can complain to the CNPD.

Can the Tax Authority see a driver’s activity data?

The law provides that the AT and the ISS may access or receive the information needed to check tax and social security obligations of TVDE activity, including the identification of active drivers and vehicles, their associations and periods of activity. The specific terms depend on an implementing regulation not yet published (article 20-A(5) and (6)).

Can passengers be rated by drivers?

Yes, under the new law. The ban on rating users, which was in article 19(5) of the 2018 law, has been repealed, and the platform must now provide a trip rating service by the user and by the driver (article 19(2)(c)).