Summary
Putting together a product as designers is a challenge on its own. But what happens when you take ethics, privacy, and data into account? What is the extent of the slippery slope about asking for and storing data? It’s understandable the key stakeholders need to keep an eye on the KPIs and factor data in when evaluating designs. However, should any ethical dilemmas be considered when gathering such data? Join Matteo Gratton, Design Advocate from Sketch, as he draws more attention to these important topics with real cases.
Key Insights
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Data itself is not the problem; ethical concerns arise from how data is collected, stored, and shared.
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Designers and managers hold responsibility to limit data collection to what is strictly necessary.
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Many popular applications request excessive and irrelevant personal data, such as health or financial info.
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Dark patterns often manipulate users into sharing more data than needed, reducing user control.
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Transparency and explicit user consent increase user trust for data tracking and collection.
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Storing large amounts of data indefinitely adds complexity and environmental costs.
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User data can be triangulated to identify individuals even without sensitive information.
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Data sharing decisions must consider potential harms, such as unintended discrimination or misuse.
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Internal company debates are vital to ethically decide what data to store and share in collaborative tools.
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Ethical standards for data use are not fixed; continuous review and iteration are necessary.
Notable Quotes
"Data per se are not the problem; it is the way we are using the data that can be problematic."
"Why are you requiring my health and fitness information just to send a message to a friend?"
"I’m tracking my free trial payments from a company I don’t even work with anymore, and that shouldn’t happen."
"Many tools track user behavior invisibly, without asking for permission and without transparency."
"We have to help users understand what data is useful for us and what they can choose to share or not."
"More data isn’t always better; massive data makes finding needed information harder and wastes energy."
"With data triangulation, even nonsensitive data can identify a person with high probability."
"We as designers sit at the table between the business and users, balancing priorities with ethical responsibility."
"Our live collaboration tool only stores what’s strictly necessary and ensures equal visibility of user actions."
"The greatest part of progress is the desire to progress — ethical data use is an ongoing journey, not a fixed state."
Dig deeper—ask the Rosenbot:
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