In the first of our series of pieces looking at the top digital trends of 2023, Lead Web Developer, Craig Wheatley, discusses what the current state of owning our own data is and how Web3 is revolutionising how it can be used for your benefit.
The year is 2023 and with laws like the GDPR and the CCPA, you can be 100% certain that you own all your own data, right? Unfortunately, this is not the case. While we can be confident in knowing what PII we share with websites, there is so much more “anonymous” data that is collected and stored that most of us aren’t even aware of.
The term “anonymous” is used loosely here – because despite the data not having things like your name, address or credit card information; it can contain behaviour data that could be accurate enough to identify any individual on earth.
Imagine having access to everything
In today’s web we can only dream of recording and storing every action we take, whilst having access to that data at the click of a button. But the future is coming. With Web3 the data is in your hands, free to modify, free to remove, free to give away – whatever you choose, however you choose. We’re only a short step away from having AI-powered medical devices which can use that data to detect early signs of disease and illness. Doesn’t it sound wonderful?
What if a large “big-tech” company held enough information about your daily behaviour that it could be used to detect early signs of Alzheimers or Dementia. Sounds like something you should have access to – and yet that data is locked away behind closed doors and is used primarily for making money, none of which you will ever see.
What will the future look like?
The power of Web3 will ensure you own your own data and can take it with you wherever you need. Not just your name, address and other simple form fields you fill in but rather your behaviour data that makes you, you. When you sign up to that new video streaming service, there’s no need for passwords, no need for personal or financial information: it’s all just there, accurate, secure and publicly verifiable. Market leaders, Stytch, are revolutionising the way we interact with the web, bringing a simpler, smarter, passwordless experience to the masses. They offer a fully integrated suite of authentication and authorization products and aim to reduce user friction and drive conversion by removing the hassle of remembering and storing passwords.
Web3 among other topics was discussed at our recent trip to WebSummit. Follow our blog for further insights from the summit and for our take on the top trends to keep an eye on throughout 2023.