Privacy Disclosure Matrix for Selective Data Consent
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data collection and privacy schemes are opaque and lack transparency, forcing users to consent to unclear terms without understanding how their personal information is used, and fail to account for varying jurisdictional requirements, leading to potential misuse and liability.
Innovation Solution
A 'Privacy-as-a-Process' (PaaS) arrangement that provides a clear, organized disclosure matrix explaining what information is collected and how it will be used, allowing users to give informed consent, with optional offers for enhanced features in exchange for data sharing, enabling selective consent and compliance with jurisdictional regulations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If users are presented with comprehensive privacy policies detailing all data collection and usage, then transparency and informed consent are improved, but the complexity and difficulty of locating and reading these policies increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the comprehensive privacy policy into discrete, manageable data elements and usage categories. Each data element (e.g., location, contacts, camera) is separately identified and paired with its specific usage purposes, allowing users to review and consent to individual items rather than facing a monolithic document. This segmentation transforms the overwhelming privacy policy into an organized matrix of specific data-collecting elements and their associated uses.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary privacy management system that acts as a mediator between the application's data collection needs and the user's consent. This system generates the organized privacy policy matrix, manages user selections, and coordinates with both the application and users, simplifying the interaction while maintaining comprehensive transparency.
2Ease of operation
If applications collect extensive personal information to provide personalized services, then service quality and user experience are improved, but user privacy risk and potential misuse increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by allowing different levels of data sharing consent for different data elements and usage purposes. Users can grant permission for specific uses (e.g., location for navigation but not for marketing) while denying others, creating a customized privacy profile that enables personalization where acceptable while protecting privacy where concerned.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic consent management where users can modify their data sharing preferences at any time. The system allows users to add or remove consent for specific data elements and uses, enabling flexible adjustment of privacy settings as needs and concerns change, rather than requiring static all-or-nothing consent.
3Reliability
If applications implement strict consent requirements for all data uses, then compliance with privacy regulations is improved, but user convenience and accessibility to services decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by requiring consent only for specific data elements and uses rather than demanding blanket permission for all possible data collection and processing. Users provide consent selectively for each identified data-collecting element and its associated uses, enabling compliance with regulations while minimizing barriers to service access.
4Productivity
If applications offer enhanced features in exchange for data sharing permission, then user engagement and data collection are improved, but user trust and perceived privacy protection decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by obtaining user consent for data sharing before any enhanced features are activated or any data is collected. The organized privacy policy matrix is presented and user selections are recorded in advance, ensuring that data sharing occurs only with prior authorized consent, thereby maintaining trust while enabling engagement.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for controlling access to a user's personal information includes obtaining, from an application executing on a device of a user of the application, personal information about the user of an application; determining a required permission from the user for at least one proposed use of the personal information; presenting, to the user, a first offer to provide access to at least one enhanced function of the application in exchange for the required permission; and responsive to the user providing the required permission, providing the user with access to the at least one enhanced function of the application.