Me.Ring
A concept for privacy, agency, and digital lifestyle. Me.Ring grants you access to a new data marketplace, so you can own, control, and monetize your personal data.
On a personal note:
I came up with the idea for a privacy wearable after experiencing identity theft first hand. In the future, I believe we will have control over the terms in which our data is used. We will have a shared language for how to value our data, its value in the market, and how third parties intend to use our data — if we choose to share it at all.
A future data marketplace will be a transparent exchange of data
Big Data and AI have enabled marketers to find, collate, and correlate information, making it more personal, more useful, and more valuable than ever. As individuals, each time we enlist services, and as we move through our daily lives, we are giving away our personal data, with little control over what we get in return.
Me.Ring looks forward to a future data marketplace, a transparent exchange that allows us to have better control as individuals, and to place an explicit value on our personal data. It will require a framework of ownership, and an interface.
A digital interface, acting as a companion to Me.Ring and used to manage your data in a future data marketplace
A physical totem works as a convenient and tangible interface
Me.Ring is designed to grant you access to a new data marketplace and shine light on the dark interactions that today pervade your everyday movements, so you can own, control, and monetize your personal data.
The device is a wearable ring that allows you to declare in a given moment what type of data you have to offer, and place a value on that data. Then you can signal acceptance of a transaction to share your data, in exchange for a stated benefit.
To drive adoption and access to a new open exchange, the Me.Ring interface is designed to remove friction, tell a good story, and fit comfortably into the user’s life.
How it works
Language defines the framework of a new data marketplace
Richer language around data transactions will help inform the nature of the exchange we are about to make. This language needs to define the different types and limitations of data we’re sharing, as well as the parameters of the commercial, personal, and civic exchanges. It must be explicit and precise about the agreements of each transaction: what data we’re offering, how it can be used, and what benefit we will receive in return.
Turning privacy concerns into opportunities
A new data marketplace raises many questions about privacy, security, protections, rights. And each of these questions opens a window of opportunity, to turn privacy concerns into features that we can safely use to improve our lives in meaningful ways.
We may own our personal data. But what good is owning it if you can’t use it? By answering this challenge, Me.Ring offers a new view on privacy and digital lifestyle, and a new way to interact with the digital version of ourselves.
Featured in
“This privacy ring is like an Incognito Mode for real life. It’s just a concept...but boy could we use something this simple to manage our privacy.”
Select early sketches — exploring functionality, materiality, and form factor
Select early 3D model renderings — leveling up the sketches into a higher fidelity
