Opinion: Blockchain can give you back the power over your own data

Photo credit: vasabii / 123RF Stock Photo.

When we talk about data, it’s important to understand that it’s part of a larger ecosystem. Every transaction/action people make online creates new data to be used, analyzed, and understood. Even using apps or visiting sites can leave information that could be monetized.

Social media also plays a part. Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and their competitors are amongst the largest data producers and consumers in the world.

But until recently, data was generally stored in large centralized servers. This is even more true for massive websites like Amazon or Google, who gather all the information created on their platforms. These sites have full control over how to use this data and are the only ones who can decide who can buy it and at what price.

Though some may argue that this model is still relevant, it is far from perfect. Here are two reasons why:

1. Centralizing so much information in one location makes it an easy target for hackers. If an attack succeeds, millions of users risk having their personal information and even financial data stolen.
2. Companies big and small race for bigger and better data centers, paying large sums for an advantage. But in the end, no one goes past the first page of a Google search to find anything these days.

Move over, centralized data

There are better alternatives for data storage and control.

Blockchain technology provides a decentralized network hosted by connected devices. Instead of allowing corporations to centralize data and do with it as they please, blockchain can return the power to the users themselves.

Some companies have already created individual storage solutions entirely on the blockchain. Cloud storage company Storj Labs is an example. It created a cloud storage platform based entirely on the chain.

See: Amazon hasn’t cracked China’s cloud market. This blockchain startup thinks it can.

Blockchain also offers more security, as data is stored across every node on the system, making it difficult to hack. Operating on the chain also means that transactions can be dealt directly in cryptocurrencies, further avoiding regulations and complications.

Users are starting to regain control over the data they create and are now able to monetize it. Blockchain-based platform Streamr allows users to share the data they create and trade with others transparently. The company’s CEO, Henri Pihkala, wrote in a blog post:

“Decentralization of real-time data will be a necessary step to free personal, commercial, and machine data streams from the control of giant corporations. It will unlock the next level of decentralized applications and go way beyond what is achievable with current-day blockchains and distributed file storage alone.”

A solution in search of a problem?

Where blockchain and data meet