Contemporary cities, whose population is on a growing trend, are the main stage for the challenges of the present, such as climate change, access to food, environmental disasters, energy consumption and the emission of greenhouse gases, violence, social inequality, among others. The solution of these problems is complex, requiring the involvement of multiple actors and the investment of voluminous financial resources. With this in mind, the ideal of the smart city emerges, seeking to use information and communication technologies to diagnose and address urban problems by collecting and processing data about the city and its citizens. If, on the one hand, technology can and should be used to improve the quality of life, on the other hand, its use raises doubts about the violation of citizens privacy. For these reasons, the present research aims to study how it is possible to fulfill the promises of the smart city without this meaning the expansion of surveillance and the systematization of violations of data protection laws. For this, the work will: study the definitions of smart city, address the challenges for data protection in this context and propose measures that mitigate the damages to the privacy of urban citizens.