Future interactions with data privacy
Goal
Question
How might we design friction so that people are motivated to engage with their personal data and its requests throughout their day at home?
Approach
A concept for a desirable future where citizens have full transparency over their personal data. They control their privacy, manage their data consciously, and actively support data-driven innovation. They can take part in decisions about data sharing and track their choices.
Concept
A product system makes personal data tangible, ownable, and controllable at home.
Physical Interface
The physical interface enables tangible, intuitive interaction with personal data at home. It creates a dedicated moment for action and increases engagement through spatial interaction.
App
The app provides additional information and guides users when needed. Users can manage past decisions and view, update, or request deletion of permissions for devices, apps, and websites.
Background Service
The background service is an algorithm that learns which data is important to the user. It connects all digital devices at home (e.g., laptop, smartphone, smart home). By handling technical complexity in the background, it shifts focus to conscious, personal decisions.
Interactions
Open to view detailed privacy information.
Move it in any direction toward a preferred ring to set a reminder.
Place the device in front of you to choose what you want to share — from low to highly sensitive data.
Ecosystem
The concept is a product system made up of three main components.
Flow
Key challenges
Method
Using a speculative design approach, we explored present and future scenarios to design for tomorrow’s world. The process helped us gain and validate insights into how people interact with data. This method allowed us to address a politically sensitive topic responsibly while deepening our understanding of “rich interactions” (Frens, 2006).
We conducted interviews to identify key privacy concerns. The idea: data is becoming increasingly important and faces major challenges across politics, technology, design, and society. This hypothesis was tested through non-leading expert interviews. Participants included EU citizens, developers, a professor of data ethics and computer science, a PhD in data protection and information policy, and a former Member of the European Parliament focused on data privacy.
Background
Managing personal data is a challenge today. While EU regulations aim to protect consumer rights, inconsistent cookie banners create digital barriers. Transparency and usability often conflict. New technologies evolve faster than laws, testing society’s adaptability. Data protection is personal and subjective. Balancing transparency (friction) and usability is key to designing user-friendly data interactions. Our project explores this balance and aims to help citizens manage their data consciously and securely.
