The BBC has unveiled a new service they have created in the form of a personal cloud that not only allows you to collect data from services such as Instagram, spotted by another’s but will also make recommendations and offer other features without needing you to share your private information online. The BBC Box is part of a research project into ways people can control access to their personal data, something which is not always available from big companies such as Google, Facebook and others. Watch the video below to learn more about the Databox personal data platform.
The current prototype is based on a Raspberry Pi and the Databox personal data platform, packaged up into a hexagonal housing. Once set up, the user can choose which data source they want to import from, and create a local copy of that information. The first two apps developed focus on a recommendations profiler and a travel companion.
“The storage and use of personal data is rightly, a topic of enormous interest and people are concerned about what their data is and isn’t used for. Participants in this project have actively chosen to be part of the trial and they are at the centre of the service, with full control of what data is stored about them and how it is used.”
“Each person enters their own preferences into their individual BBC Box to generate a list of potential holidays,” the BBC explains. “Two or more sets of preferences can then be combined to create shared options for consideration. You may not want to share the reason you don’t want to visit a particular country or city – perhaps you went there with a former partner or don’t agree with its policies – and with this service you don’t need to.”
For more information on the new BBC Box service jump over to the research and development blog of the BBC.
Source: BBC : SG
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