When It Comes to Privacy, Focus on Transparency
The NSA surveillance programs leak has stirred up a lot of controversy and can teach software developers a valuable lesson. One of the main arguments surrounding the leak is that the public should have had more information about the existence of these programs. This is the argument companies need to be paying attention.
The issue has come up time and again. Users notice changes in privacy policies and become unhappy. Petitions are created, people call for boycotts, and users generally complain and call for a redaction of the change. All it takes is a misunderstanding of the new policy or a “secret” change that users weren’t notified about. Catching users off guard or being vague often results in trouble.
Instagram experienced this in January. Users were notified about the change, but the update was confusing and led people to believe their photos could be used in advertisements without their permission. Instagram scrambled to clear the air.
We introduced a set of updates to our privacy policy and terms of service to help our users better understand our service. In the days since, it became clear that we failed to fulfill what I consider one of our most important responsibilities—to communicate our intentions clearly.
When legal experts took a look at the policy, they were just as unsure about what it allowed the service to do—which doesn’t bode well for transparency. From The Washington Post:
But the updated language was not immediately available, leaving many users still skeptical about Instagram’s intentions. Legal experts said the “terms of use” document was remarkably expansive.
Privacy is an evolving field, and new standards will be debated for years. The one thing companies can embrace now is transparency. If users are presented with changes, can understand the terms of service, and are notified when an application is accessing or storing data, they can make informed decisions and are less likely to feel violated.
Looking to actively avoid controversies, Google has taken precautionary steps regarding privacy concerns with Google Glass. The company set clear standards around the wearable tech and outlined expectations for developers. From VR-Zone:
Google just recently posted an important notice to its Google Glass channel on G+ that puts to rest all privacy concerns. Many people, which includes the U.S. Congress, had privacy concerns with the prototype eye-ware. Google is trying to calm these fears by saying they are rejecting any ‘Glassware’ that would jeopardize any individual’s security and privacy until all proper protections are set in place.
The search giant also updated their policies on the Glass developer site.
Users like convenience, and they’re willing to give companies access to a lot of information if they understand why its needed and trust that it will be kept safe and under their overall control. Be sneaky about a privacy policy, and companies destroy that trust.
