security and privacy

Introducing our new report “From Policy to Pixels: Strategic UX Design and User Support for GDPR Implementation.” Supported by the University of California Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (CLTC), we conducted research to better understand how GDPR policy implementation is situated in current UX practices and how multi-disciplinary product teams reach design decisions

Zine related to our Policy to Pixels research project about learnings from people who had to implement GDPR regulation.

Designing for Security

Information security focuses on third parties’ access to user data without permission. Develop your knowledge of principles and practices to design transparent and accountable systems with our curated resources that include uses cases, emerging research issues, and the implications of current events for the field.

AI (chatbots, personal assistants, etc.) relies on machine learning to make decisions and take actions on behalf of people. UX design can make these systems more transparent and ethical.

San Franciscans surprised us with positive feelings about data collection by retail apps, which they considered beneficial to their communities.

To help you assess risks to your data, we provide ways to dissect threats and tips to protect against them.

Get prepared to discuss security with more technical team mates. If you’re a designer, learn useful background information.

My last post examined the concept of phishing, which is a type of social-engineering attack to con people into divulging private information like passwords or credit card numbers. When you look for advice on how to protect against phishing, most of …

Most people who spend time online have a general idea of what “phishing” is, but it can be hard for folks outside of the security community to pin down an exact definition. Understanding the threat that phishing attacks pose can help designers and …

Web browsers are utility software; they are designed to work for all people. Not only must their features meet the needs of average members of a population, they must also work for people with special needs. As Firefox says on its mobile …

Building great software requires understanding what users want and need. If you’re building privacy-preserving software, this includes understanding the privacy threats that your users face. One of the participants in Ame’s NYC study. When Ame set …

Chatbots, or conversational programs that simulate interactive human speech patterns, are a hot topic in UX right now. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently claimed that “bots are the new apps”, and that they are the interface of the future for tasks …

Simply Secure focuses its collaborative efforts on open-source, privacy-preserving software projects. In my conversations with designers, developers, and end users, I’m often struck by a divergence in their understanding of what “openness” means in …

I really enjoyed my time at the Internet Freedom Festival in Valencia, Spain. I was inspired and humbled to meet so many talented people as part of a global event about internet freedom. From powerful conversations about privilege to UX design jam …

This is the first in a short series of posts looking at Facebook’s “Privacy Checkup” feature. This installment examines why even privacy advocates who avoid social-media sites should take time to understand it and related user experiences. The next …

Many regular readers of our blog have already drunk the metaphorical Kool-Aid. You know that a good user experience is critical to an app’s success; moreover, you know that when a piece of software seeks to preserve its users’ privacy, a poor UX can …

It’s always great to attend security and privacy conferences in person. But in cases where you have to miss an event, online videos of the talks can be a great way to stay current with the ongoing conversation. Art, Design, and The Future of Privacy …

It can be hard to communicate about security-related features with users who aren't already security experts. From word choice to the level of detail included, it's easy to overwhelm people with information, leave them scared, or bore them to …

Recent attacks byDaesh in Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, and Paris have fanned the flames of an ongoing debate about software that is resistant to surveillance. It seems that some participants in that debate are trying to use these attacks as an excuse to …

My recent post describing some of the reasons we choose Slack over IRC for our public forum is part of a larger conversation people are having around the promise and concerns of group-communication tools. A quick search for “Slack vs. IRC” yields a …

People who think about computer security for a living sometimes cringe when they read about the subject in the popular press. Security is a complex and nuanced topic, and it’s easy to make assertions that don’t hold up to careful scrutiny. One …