I recently started using a friend's product, and they mentioned in passing that I was their number one user in terms of some metric they tracked. I didn't think much about it at the time, but I later found out that they were observing usage, not in aggregate, but by individuals with their identities attached to it. That made me feel uncomfortable. Today, I talked with them about it, and here's my attempt at explaining why this feels off.

There's a difference between Google's servers knowing my search history and a friend who works there knowing it.

There's a difference between Uber's servers knowing when I request rides and a friend who works there knowing it.

There's a difference between my data being anonymized and analyzed in the aggregate and someone looking at it with my identity attached.

By examining even basic usage data, my friend can ascertain information about me that I don't expect to be broadcasting: when I'm awake, when I'm on my computer, etc. Someone providing data in order to use your service doesn't mean that they're okay with you looking at their data just because you're curious.

My friend wasn't convinced. But wouldn't they have less data to work with if they didn't know the identities behind the activity they saw? Sure, but there are other ways to test products and collect feedback. Interview users. Send out surveys. Ask for feedback through emails. "It's inconvenient" or "we're a small startup" aren't valid reasons to disregard people's privacy. Thankfully, my friend heard me out with an open mind, and they said they'd bring this up with their team.

It's amazing how much people's intuitions differ when it comes to this. This isn't surprising — our industry spends countless hours discussing how to collect and process data more effectively but barely any time talking about what data is appropriate to collect in the first place or what our responsibilities are once we have it. I wish a course on privacy and ethics played a part in every computer science education.

<aside> 👋 You're reading Road to Ramen, where I think aloud and share everything I learn in exploring the question: Can I make a living building things I love?

by DK the Human (@dk_the_human)

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