Visualize privacy
One group built a tool that visualized the number and types of ads
served during a browser session. The application launches a
vibrantly colored web page cluttered with squares and rectangles
representing actual ads, each in a hue attributed to the company
that served the ad.
Another team offered a service that alerts people when online
registration forms collect data the user isn't aware is being
gathered. If people have auto-fill enabled in their browsers, it is
possible for publishers or ecommerce sites to grab auto-fill
information even if registration forms don't show fields for that
information.
Contestants ran the gamut from older entrepreneurs to recent
grads. Jonathan Dahan, a young media tech developer at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art's Media Lab, helped create the ad
visualization tool. He worked nearby Scott Powell, CEO of Climafy,
a startup that helps promote eco-friendly home energy upgrades.
Mr. Powell's team Toto -- named after the terrier who pulls back
the curtain in the Wizard of Oz -- was among the two top
vote-getters. The team's browser plug-in exposes companies tracking
user data online by surfacing photos of the firm's top execs. For
instance, if Google tracking is
detected, the face of Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt
appears on the page.
The other top-rated entry came from team Falcon. Rather than
focus on the privacy aspects of data tracker proliferation online,
their tool measures the amount of time that tracking technologies
add to page load time. The system works in conjunction with the
Ghostery app, allowing users to opt-out from tracking by particular
companies.
For the next month, the Ghostery community can vote for Toto
or Falcon. The winning team scores a visit to South by
Southwest next year, accompanying Ghostery.