Data Aeternum
Shivam Sinha
Your data privacy matters. Whether it may be websites tracking your every click, pharmaceutical companies selling your eating habits to your health insurance provider, or retail companies selling you baby bottles even before your parents know you’re expecting, our data is extremely valuable. We give it away for free. Even the fictional nightmares of shows like Black Mirror can become a reality as new technologies enable the many dangers of profiling.
Data Aeternum is a Data Privacy guide, which seeks to not only apprise, educate, and empower users to reduce their data footprint, but also to bridge their perception and reality to the dangers of data collection. It’s designed for a universal at-risk audience of young adults, who aren’t aware of these dangers, and technology illiterate adults and seniors, who might be unaware of these data collection practices. The project consists of a website, and an interactive handbook. The website serves as a self-sufficient entry point to the project that provides actionable steps to reduce your data footprint and the essential context to understand data privacy. The interactive book further builds upon the website, providing essential information to more deeply understand the complex topic of data privacy, along with providing further resources to further learn and demand oversight. Data Aeternum uses a neutral design as a tool to gather information and communicate to users in a manner which helps them understand the risks of data collection, and feel empowered to take back control.