A lot has changed with the internet since its invention in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee. Now amid growing concerns about privacy the creator of the world wide web wants to help you take control of your data.
Berners-Lee and cybersecurity veteran John Bruce founded Inrupt in 2018 with the goal of changing how data is accessed on the internet. Enter Solid Pods. With this new platform users are able to store their data in one place, and determine which apps, programs etc. are allowed access, as well as what pieces of information can be accessed. Now with an enterprise grade version, Solid seems to be gaining traction.
Solid doesn't reinvent the web, rather it works with it, here is some information from the solid website about how it works;
"Solid is still the web, but with a few things added and a few assumptions overturned
Solid adds:
An identification system so that instead of having to sign in to everything with Google or Facebook you can sign in with your favourite Solid provider and you won’t be tracked.
Ubiquitous sharing control so that you can share anything with anybody no matter which social media they happen to be part of.
A sort of personal cloud storage or a A USB storage in the sky which is called a Pod.
Solid overturns assumptions:
When you start a Solid app, instead of the app storing the data itself, it stores it on your Pod. When you use the app, you choose which app to use, and you choose which Pod to use with which app."
The platform is already being used in the UK, In October the BBC introduced watch parties using Solid, where the users could stream a program, then at the end see what data was generated, who joined, and decide what data (if any) to share with the BBC. The NHS is also testing the platform, and government of the Flanders region of Belgium is testing it as well, with plans to allow users to choose what information is shared.
With talk of Web3 and decentralization, this may be the next step in controlling where your data is stored and who has access.
Check out https://solidproject.org/faqs for more detailed information on how it works and how to get a pod (or two).
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