Project #8 Consentful Interface

Description

This project is based on my previous one, “Experimental Camera”. I have added a series of consent pages, which requires users to fully understand all agreement clauses. I did this under the guidance of F.R.I.E.S. principles and I aim to encourage users pay more attention to their various rights even in the virtual world.

Flow Chart

Design Process

F.R.I.E.S. principles include following elements:

Freely given. Doing something with someone is a decision that should be made without pressure, force, manipulation, or while incapacitated. In technology, if an interface is designed to mislead people into doing something they normally wouldn’t do, the application is not consentful.

Reversible. Anyone can change their mind about what they want to do, at any time. In technology, you should have the right to limit access or entirely remove your data at any time.

Informed. Be honest. For example, if someone says they’ll use protection and then they don’t, that’s not consent. Consentful applications use clear and accessible language to inform users about the risks they present and the data they are storing, rather than burying these important details in e.g., the fine print of terms & conditions.

Enthusiastic. If someone isn’t excited, or really into it, that’s not consent. If people are giving up their data because they have to in order to access necessary services and not because they want to, that is not consentful.

Specific. Saying yes to one thing doesn’t mean they’ve said yes to others. A consentful app only uses data the user has directly given, not data acquired through other means like scraping or buying, and uses it only in ways the user has consented to.

My basic design thoughts come from the specific term, so my first idea is to divide all clauses into different categories and demonstrate them in different pages. After researching some APPs, I summarize out 4 aspects: notification, wireless data, phone features and collecting data. Also, in order to explain all permissions clearly without misleading, I add icons to better illustrate them.

More importantly, I set a page as conclusion about what items that users have already agree, to make sure that all choices are not made under pressure or impulsion.