Ryan Gray:
Our current Contacts apps are full data we’ve collected about other people. It’s out of date and inaccurate. It has things people wish we didn’t have. Anyone can share the data they’ve collected with anyone else. App developers can easily ask for this information (and most people will give it to them).
This is a backwards system. You should be the owner of your contact information. You should grant access to others deciding who can see what specific pieces of information. Ironically the one company that seems to best share this view is the one people trust the least to handle this kind of data: Facebook.
Ryan brings up an excellent point. As is, my Contacts database is full of outdated information. And I have no way of telling whether that information is still valid. Everything is static, a screenshot of the moment in time when I first received the contact card.
From Ryan’s proposed replacement, which he calls “People”:
Of course, you can easily share one of your cards with anyone nearby (and get theirs). But a shared card is not just sent once. It’s a subscription. If you change your phone number or if you move you’ll be able to push the updates out to anyone who is subscribed. You’ll also be able to block anyone, revoke access, or prevent someone from sharing your card.
The more I think about this the more I love the idea. I’m not sure how easy an implementation this would be, but I do think it’d be doable, at least at a very basic level. But the privacy implications would be tricky to handle properly.
That said, this is an idea I hope gets some traction and, hopefully, a look from within Apple.
[H/T Dan Murrell]
I, too, would champion Apple to take on this initiative. Perhaps, something that’s open-source, on par with Bitcoin’s blockchain.
Who else, besides Apple, do you trust with your most sensitive information?
Facebook, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, IBM? No.
Equifax, Experian, TransUnion? No.
IRS, Chase, Berkshire Hathaway? No.
Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi? Hell No.
This has been around for decades in the enterprise where keeping your contact information up-to-date is extremely important, but access is always kept internal, for obvious reasons.
There has been a standard “contact” card format for many years, vCard. And is currently interchangeable among all main platforms. What is needed is a centralized vCard hosting service (vcardhosting.com) that everyone in your world would need to join. You think that’s going to be possible? And would you be able to trust that service with your contact information? On top of that, all the major platforms would have to support that service.
Furthermore, not everyone is online and connected, so regardless of what service is out there, you would still need to manually update some of your contacts anyway.
There’s actually work around this happening. An organization I’ve done some work for is pursuing this as are some others using blockchain tech (not bitcoin). Basic problem and solution is https://blog.sovrin.org/fixing-the-five-problems-of-internet-identity-b55ea072c3ea but the idea is that we all have a digital ID.
Some entities provide us with verifiable information about ourselves… the easy example is that the state provides verification that I was born on a given date. I can then present that information and control HOW. At a bar, all I need to prove is that I’m over drinking age so I can present a digital ID that interfaces with something at the bar and behind the scenes, it’s verified that yes, I’m over 21 without exposing my actual age or birthdate (there’s a lot of back and forth crypto but that’s transparent).
The idea is that each entity controls its ID and can change and manage what’s available and to whom.
Sounds like a good idea. Being able to revoke specific access is important. “Set and forget” doesn’t work well if I’ve given information to someone I later decide I’d rather not keep updated.
This works right up until someone copies the contact data (it has to be available to be used, after all) and then your contact details are out there somewhere being spread by whoever decides to share their entire contacts database with some marketing firm for a chance at winning that free holiday.