Privacy ON is a web service that automatically and instantly changes the privacy settings of major internet media (Twitter, Google, Facebook) according to the user’s internet usage.
Internet companies take personal data from users in order to provide information efficiently and to some extent select and prepare information according to the user’s needs (personalisation). However, taking personal data from users has many problems. For instance,In the 2018 Facebook scandal, user data leakage, it was claimed that Facebook data was used for the US presidential election, and to advertise to potential Trump supporters in order to get their votes. This means that users’ thoughts can be manipulated and changed by companies before they know it.
Companies are aware of this problem, but they do not want to change the system of personalisation . This is because, while people can use their services for free, the revenue of these companies comes from buying and selling the personal data they collect. Moreover, users don’t know what information is being taken about them, they are unaware that they are using the internet every day.
In light of this situation, I think users should not passively receive all of information, but should control what personal data they give to internet companies (active choice), according to their different ways of using the internet.
However, with more than 70 privacy settings for Twitter, Google and Facebook alone, it would be hard for users to think about and choose each one for themselves. Therefore, By using PrivacyON, users can reduce stress choice the number of options from 70 to 5.
A way of this service is very simple. You just enter the ID and password of the Twitter, Google or Facebook account and set your privacy settings for, choose from five different ways to use the internet (your online lifestyle) and you’ll be set up in no time! You can set your privacy settings in an instant.
Five internet lifestyles to choose
I divided the lifestyles of Internet users, i.e. their views on life and values, into five categories, and have tried to encourage users to make active choices by naming them in a way that avoids bias in the my opinion (the five categories are analysed and set from the types of information behaviour of people in the information media environment)
Why I think it is important to manage personal data myself?
I believe that information will become more personalised in the future. This is because the introduction of algorithms is rational in order to increase the profitability of internet advertising and to alleviate the information overload of users. We are also seeing a surge in the development of products that incorporate artificial intelligence (AI). Google home and Amazon echo, for example, use voice recognition to learn and personalise user behaviour. In the future, the personal data of its users will be available not only from PCs and smartphones, but also from cars, vehicles and many other objects. This trend is not stopping and will continue in the future, and the amount and type of personal data collected will explode.
So what will happen to our lives when this happens? Nowadays young generation are more than willing to give up all their personal data as long as they are given information that is relevant and efficient. If personal data continues to be collected, we could be living in a society where all our lives are monitored by the government, just like in the novel 1984.
A real potential problem is the information gap created by low and high internet skills. The information gap mans the gap in wealth, opportunity and social status between those who are able to use and master information technology (IT), such as computers and the internet, and those who are not.
With over 84% of the population having access to the internet, the opportunity gap can be seen as the difference in information available to users depending on how they use the internet.
Therefore, I believe that the active choice of the user as to what personal data they will or will not pass on the internet companies while using the Internet will help to close the opportunity gap. One of the ways to do this is to change privacy settings. The term “active choice” used in this study is defined by behavioural economist Cass R. Sunstein as “a choice made by the user on their own initiative”. Cass R. Sunstein states that active choice is effective in situations where it is desirable to assign a sense of responsibility. For example, people like the choices they make. In other words, if you make an active choice, people will put more effort into it, and in a sense they will like what they have chosen.
I believe that it is important to make users themselves responsible for the choices they make about how they use the internet. However, the complexity and unfamiliarity of privacy settings, in particular, means that active choice is likely to place a heavy burden on the chooser. We therefore suggest that there is a need for a means of active choice that is less burdensome for the user.
2018.11 IAMAS
2018.11 Global grad show in Dubai
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In order to make privacy settings automatic, we also distributed a paper of privacy setting items to people with resistance according to their internet lifestyle.
You can actually change the privacy settings
