I am Pretty Serious about Privacy

My private stuff is still on a floppy disk and my 6 y/o daughter has it’s custody. Trust me, she has a better privacy policy than GDPR; no sharing, no reproduction, no exchange, no AI, and no analytics. Even the owner can’t ask for it.

I am pretty serious about privacy, that’s why!

I always wondered why big investors bought an app for billions of dollars! Since the past few weeks, all newspapers have the same hue and cry, and we might have an answer now!

I am quite sure that the app in question may lose a good number of customers, fight several global litigations and so on, but one question still remains:

Does it solve our problem? or Will it be just another reaction till we adjust to the new normal?

This is a learning opportunity for entrepreneurs, users and other stakeholders who depend on an app’s data security and privacy to go about their business.

As tech entrepreneurs, we have a responsibility to set the house in order by doing what is right for the business and its consumers by informing them beforehand. While on-boarding users, we should take required information and consent to process such information, inform them where the information will be stored, the duration of storage and what this process may entail in the future. This not only helps the business, but is also greatly appreciated by the users’ investors.

At the end of the day, any business needs money to survive. Whether it comes from the consumer or the investor at the first go, or by offering ad-spaces to prospective marketers who could push relevant customer-targeted ads, allowing them to make well-informed and better decisions.

No doubt startups are mushrooming every day, and certain irresponsible startups engage in back-door selling of customer data, but it is high time that such practices should be stopped as they tarnish the image of the honest players in the market. From the perspective of the investor, due diligence is important before investing. It adds value in the business if the product/service has value in offering, need in the market, future growth prospects etc.

The bone of contention in the recent case is the retrospective consent of it’s users. Looking at the size of the app and the deep pockets, they can afford litigation and have reasons to secure their interest. But do you have such a reason? Or the affordability?

As a user, be it an individual, or a business, we should always analyse the worth of any tech offering, whether it addresses the missing pieces and make sense of how it compares to existing/established services we are using.

Commercial impact of switches, learning curve etc. should also be a part of the decision making process.

Most importantly, what should be published for public viewing, specially for individual users, for how long it remains there(if not taken down) and is there a chance of the same getting misused, are some of the questions that need to be answered before moving forward.

The whole ecosystem of businesses should be friction-less for the owners, consumers and potential investors. If there is friction, it can certainly turn out to be a flea trap and make it difficult for the business’ existence.

Remember technology is for the good and will remain so forever. It is high time we become responsible towards using it for the greater good.

By the way, I forgot what’s in my floppy.

Until I figure it out, Happy Surfing!!

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