Communications of the ACM
Few Keep Track of Their Personal Data on the Net
A study by researchers at Karlstad University in Sweden found that few users understand how their personal data are compiled and stored on the Internet.
Credit: Acxiom
A study by researchers at Karlstad University in Sweden found that few users understand how their personal data are compiled and stored on the Internet, which will become a key issue when the European Union's new General Data Protection Regulation takes effect next year.
The new regulation will enable users to access and download their personal information, but Karlstad's Farzaneh Karegar says just downloading the data is not helpful for most users.
To help users manage their data, the researchers developed Data Track, a tool that enables users to download and visualize their personal information from data service providers. Data Track also has been used in a project to analyze users' views of their data and its portability.
Karegar says the analysis found users "have difficulties in understanding the difference between data saved locally on their own computers and remotely on different websites when using transparency-enhancing tools like Data Track."
From Karlstad University (Sweden)
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