As Facebook focuses on repairing its image after the Cambridge Analytica scandal and every app known to man begins updating their privacy agreements, one platform is putting the power of information in the hands of the consumer.
Founded by Eliza Wensley and Robert Wensley in November 2017, Databook is a platform that lets users sell information about themselves to companies. Users can also deny companies’ access to their information through the platform.
Databook was founded after the Wensleys spent years helping another company flip homes. During their time there, they changed the business model by being the middleman between individuals who wanted to buy a home and those who wanted to sell homes. Many of the people looking to sell their homes were experiencing financial crises. The Wensleys had to find a way to market to those groups, so they turned to data brokers.
“We purchased a bunch of data on these peoplee,” said Eliza Wensley. “Since we were purchasing such sensitive information, the ethics part of it really hit us.”
From this ethical dilemma, Databook was born and the Wensleys began working to let users monetize their own information.
“The data brokers try to stitch together data from all these different social profiles and things,” said Robert Wensley. “They have up to 1500 data points on each customer and then they go and sell all of that data without your consent.”
The D.C.- area company also allows users to pull together their own data profiles. Users can set their own prices for their data, although Databook will provide a suggested price.
“It’s really about having consumers out-compete data brokers who are selling data that’s highly inaccurate,” said Eliza Wensley.
She said that even the best data brokers have a 50 percent accuracy rate, making consumers the best source of data.
Databook will also suggest prices to companies looking to collect the data. When a company collects data from a user, the user is sent a data usage report detailing what information was taken and what it was used for.
Contrastingly, Europe already has legislation in place to help consumers control their own data privacy. The General Data Protection Regulation allows citizens to request a data report on themselves and to have the information deleted.
Robert Wensley said that Databook will be using blockchain technology to protect users’ information, while also employing some of the nation’s top cybersecurity experts.
Databook also plans to implement login protection that prevents companies from mining for users’ data as they navigate from website to website.
The company is looking to close its $1 million seed round within the next month and is continuing to develop its technologies.
“What we’re going to be seeing in the next three-to-five years is a shift in the control of data from corporations back to the consumers,” said Robert Wensley. “Since these large tech companies have had complete control over consumer data that’s allowed them to control billions and billions of data, consumers feel frustrated and realize it’s not a good deal for them.”
