For this week’s exercise on surveillance and establishing methods of subversion, I determined that the following are tracking my metadata in some way:
- Iphone, iPad, and computer
- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – location, friends, likes, post interaction, messages
- Snapchat – location (made public)
- Google products – location services, web history, cookies, ads
- Amazon, Ebay – purchase history, recently viewed items
- Game consoles (Nintendo Switch, PS4, etc) – location, achievements, hours played, friends
- Internet Service Providers – websites visited, location
We selected internet cookies as the surveillance technology to subvert. Our first design, BreadCrumbs, is a browser extension that allows one to enable and disable cookies from a specific webpage by clicking the icon. It also alerts the user when a website requests to use cookies, and for what purpose. This informs the user of what is going on behind the scenes. In addition, the extension also features ad blocking and a VPN. 
In contrast, our second design encourages the use of cookies to improve the user experience. Called Cookie Monster, the browser extension consolidates cookie-based ads onto a homepage, which the user can browse at their leisure. When purchasing items, it also alerts the consumer if the item will be on sale within a designated time period, anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. 
I believe the first design provides a better space for contestation between users and the website creator than the latter. Breadcrumbs provides the user with the information that is being used to track them, which can be interpreted any way they see fit. They can also bring up issues of invasive activity with the websites they visit, as opposed to not knowing what the companies are doing with their private information. In contrast, Cookie Monster does nothing but consolidate ad-related cookies in one location, without illustrating other uses the company might have for that information.
I do not believe the above designs would be enough to provoke contestation about surveillance; both are features that, once enabled, may be quickly forgotten about. Furthermore, many individuals are already aware that we are being surveilled by our devices any time they are turned on, yet our behaviors have not changed. While preserving our right to privacy is monumental to me, I am unsure if such issues will ever be addressed until telescreens are installed in our homes and we are forced to pledge our allegiance to the Party.
Critical technical practice 