Facebook / Cambridge Analytica scandal: how to protect data that matter
A few days ago, The Guardian, The New York Times and Channel 4 revealed that Facebook & Cambridge Analytica got access to tens of millions of Facebook users’ data mostly without their permission in 2013. This revived and increased the debate around data privacy and transparency. Alex Stamos, Chief Security Officer at Facebook described the situation as « a breach of trust » in a Facebook post answering questions asked by the community.
All around the world, personalities such as WhatsApp founder called to #deletefacebook on social media. The thing is, with most of the online services we use today, our data aren’t safe. From the moment you decide to share something online, a message, a photo, …., with someone or a group of people, it goes through servers. From this moment, your data can be compromised.
But more and more startups believe users should have the right to data privacy. They use an approach called privacy by design. For all the day to day services you use on your mobile or computer, you can increase the safety of your data and recover the control of them.
Messaging
The messaging app Telegram was a game changer when they launched end to end encryption. This means that all the messages you share with your friends are encrypted with a specific key when they leave your phone. Messages are not understandable when they reach servers to be redistributed to the people you addressed the messages. Let’s say you’re with two friends who share a specific language that they’re the only ones to know about and they’re discussing. You can’t understand anything unless they share the right dictionary with you.
With the same philosophy as Telegram, emails with ProtonMail are end to end encrypted. To go one step further in data transparency, they give access to their code, enabling people to understand how the service works.
Internet searches
Today, if you’re wondering something, you ask internet. But to get access to the right information you need to use a search engine. With ads and other algorithms, your privacy can be compromised. And that’s exactly Qwant’s motto: being the leading search engine that respects your privacy while preserving net neutrality.
Photos management
At Zyl, we believe that your photos are the most important data you can own. It’s part of your personality, your story, your memories. And they deserve to be protected, while giving you access to the most useful and smart features with a mobile app. That’s why artificial intelligence applied to sorting your photos for exemple or reliving your best memories is directly done on your phone, without being processed on servers.
Cloud storage
If you want to enjoy all the benefits cloud storage can offer, Lima can be a great alternative. It’s a personal cloud that you safely keep at home and can access wherever you are. No need to send your personal files and data to a cloud service that stores your information somewhere in the world, everything remains in the safer place you know — your home.
Voice assistant
Voice assistants such as Google Home or Alexa by Amazon can be threatening because you don’t know exactly how it works and where your data go. But in the meantime you want to enjoy the possibility to have a voice assistant at home to easily stream music, get access to news info or anything else you wonder or want to activate at your place. Here’s the French alternative: Snips created the first privacy by design voice assistant where all the information is AI-analysed directly on the device, without having to process it somewhere else on the cloud.
So this doesn’t mean you should leave all social media, say goodbye to the digital world and retire in a cave. This just means you should be careful with the information you share and be aware of how it is spread.
And don’t forget, having nothing to hide doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care.
If you want to take the next step in protecting your data, the French startup ecosystem is very proactive regarding data privacy. It’s for exemple the leitmotif of eelo, founded by Gaël Duval, that aims to create an independent smartphone operative system that runs Android phones. It’s not live yet, but definitely something to follow.
If privacy by design is a topic that matters to you or your business, please share, clap or get in touch on Twitter or Linkedin to create something bigger :)
