patrick.net

It all comes down a simple but very dangerous shift: the major websites of today's web are not built for the visitor, but as means of using her. Our visitor has become a data point, a customer profile, a potential lead -- a proverbial fly in the spider's web. In the guise of user-centered design, we're building an increasingly user-hostile web.

If you work in the design/communication industry, consider this essay introspective soul-searching by one of your own. If you're a regular web user, consider this an appeal to demand a better web, one that respects you instead of abusing and exploiting you. ...

The Way Forward

If you want to protect yourself (as a user) from predatory web marketing companies and defend the open web, there a few things you can do today at an individual level.

If you're a web professional (a designer, UX consultant, strategist, programmer...), there are a number of considerations for better respecting your users and protecting their privacy (and your integrity).

Here's a basic list:
For end users (you, dear reader)

If you use Chrome as your main browser, consider switching to the open-source version called Chromium. Better yet, switch to Mozilla Firefox, developed by the not-for-profit Mozilla Foundation that has a solid record of defending your privacy. Consider minimalist browsers like Min (and choose to block all ads, trackers and scripts) to browse news websites.
Install a content/ad blocker for your browser: I recommend uBlock Origin (available for Firefox, Chrome and Safari on most platforms). You can also complement this with the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Privacy Badger tool that protects you from invasive ads and third-party tracking.
Install HTTPS Everywhere for your browser; this forces your information through secure, encrypted channels (HTTPS vs HTTP one) if possible. It can also be configured to only allow connections to HTTPS websites.
Think about how much information/details you provide to social media platforms like Facebook, Linked, Twitter and Instagram. They already have quite a lot (including the ability to recognize you by name on photographs), but what other information are you volunteering? Where you are, whom you're with, information about your friends?
Consider quitting social networks, especially Facebook (but download your data first!). What would you miss the most? Are there alternatives?
Consider alternatives to free services provided by the likes of Google and Facebook. Today, if both of these companies shut down (or implement policies I don't like), I would mostly be fine because my contact with them is limited. I use DuckDuckGo and Startpage for search (free); FastMail for email and calendar (less than 40€ a year) ; HERE WeGo for maps (free); Signal, email and IRC for messaging (free, along with iMessage, Whatsapp and Twitter); Digital Ocean for web hosting (about 5€ per month).
Pay for services and content that you like, if you are able. If you like reading The Guardian, for example, consider subscribing. If your favourite YouTube channel is on Patreon, consider pledging a small amount per video. If you like services like Pinboard.in that charge in return for a useful service, buy it. There's mutual respect when both the user and the service provider know what basic service they are buying/selling.
At the very least, consider that the platforms you use need you more than you need them. You have power over them (unfortunately, in numbers) and they know it. If enough people care about privacy and respect for their data and time, platforms will have to adapt to stay relevant.

For web professionals (you, fellow industry colleague)

Consider not putting share buttons everywhere. They're visual noise and make third party connections every time the page is loaded (adding to load time). If you have to, create your own instead of using ones provided by Facebook and co. (so that a click is needed before a request is made to their servers)
Support HTTPS. It's super easy (and free!) with Let's Encrypt so you don't have an excuse to not respect your users' privacy
Think about accessibility also in terms of page size, load times and tech requirements: will your website work without Javascript? What percentage of your the total weight of your page is actual information? How many third party requests are you making? How long would it take to load on a 56.6k dial-up or on EDGE? How does it render for speech readers? Can it be read via a text-based browser? (It's a fun experiment; try visiting your website with a text-based browser like lynx or Links).
Refuse client requests to implement hyper-invasive technologies like canvas fingerprinting.
Consider replacing Google Analytics with a more privacy-respecting analytics software like Piwik. Even better if you can host it yourself!
Minimize third-party dependencies like Google Fonts (you can self-host them instead).
Avoid ad networks (like the plague!) if possible. Serve your own ads by selling ad space the old school way if you're able. If not, explore privacy-respecting methods of serving ads, including developments powered by the blockchain (like the Basic Attention Token).
Respect Do Not Track.
Carefully consider the benefits of hyper personalisation and retargeting. The benefits are debatable but the long term consequences might be disastrous. Ask yourself: would you be okay with a company collecting as much data (as you seek to collect) on your teenage daughter, your nephew in college, your husband or your grand-mother?
Consider business models where you actually respect your clients and your website visitors instead of using them. If you can't be honest about your business model with your client, maybe you need to ask questions.