社区聚会：从阻止不良行为者到隐私保护派对
由软件工程师兼多元化倡导者Tracy Chou创立的初创公司Block Party，是Twitter（现X公司）API更新的牺牲品之一
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Block Party shifts focus to privacy after losing access to Twitter’s API | ENBLE
Block Party, a startup founded by Tracy Chou, a software engineer and tech diversity advocate, faced a setback earlier this year when Twitter’s API changes forced them to pivot their business. However, at the recent SXSW conference in Austin, Chou presented a glimpse of their new product called Privacy Party, designed to help people easily navigate and adjust their privacy settings across various social networks.
The Journey of Block Party
Originally, Block Party was built on Twitter’s API to automate the process of blocking bad actors, trolls, and harassers. The company even raised $4.8 million in seed funding in 2022, with plans to expand its automated blocking to more social platforms. Sadly, Twitter’s API crackdown disrupted Block Party’s operations, forcing them to put the original product, now rebranded as Block Party Classic, on hiatus.
The Functionality of Block Party Classic
Block Party Classic allowed Twitter users to filter out spam and harassment from their mentions, making Twitter more enjoyable without fully solving the content moderation problem. It acted like middleware, sitting between users and Twitter’s platform, and enhancing the user experience.
The Impact of API Changes and the Call for Regulation
Chou discussed the demise of Block Party Classic at SXSW, pointing out that Twitter’s ownership changes resulted in the loss of API access. She emphasized that regulation requiring open APIs would not only allow their product to return but also provide market opportunities and consumer choices for social media experiences across various platforms.
Introducing Privacy Party
The idea for Privacy Party originated from conversations with newsroom security teams, who desired better tools to keep journalists safe online. Journalists often face harassment, threats like doxing and stalking, and personal social media accounts that could make them vulnerable. Privacy Party aims to address these concerns by simplifying and streamlining the process of adjusting privacy settings.
Simplifying Privacy Settings
Privacy Party acts as middleware, allowing users to interact with social media platforms and services to adjust their privacy settings with fewer clicks. Platforms often complicate user interfaces and constantly move privacy settings, making it time-consuming and tedious for users to manage their privacy preferences. Privacy Party seeks to solve this problem by providing recommendations for different social media platforms.
A Scan and Customized Recommendations
In its beta form, Privacy Party is a browser extension that customizes recommendations based on a user’s current settings. The extension scans platforms like Facebook, learning about the user’s settings in the background. Once the scan is complete, the extension alerts the user, allowing them to review their settings and make changes accordingly. Privacy Party focuses on various aspects, such as content tagging, public visibility of photos and posts, contact restrictions, app permissions, access to personal information, visibility of older content, and more.
Expert Guidance for Better Privacy
Privacy Party’s extension acts like a privacy expert, guiding users through different settings and providing feedback on what needs to be changed and why. As users make changes, the extension updates the settings on their behalf, ensuring a safer online experience. The current beta version of Privacy Party supports platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit, Strava, X, and Venmo. The scanning duration ranges from one to eight minutes, depending on the number of settings that need adjustment. The extension is free to use during the beta phase.
Transparency and Control
Each recommendation offered by Privacy Party provides transparency about the user’s data and its implications. It also presents controls, including an additional level of automation for finding and fixing privacy settings. Privacy Party aims to empower users by giving them a better understanding of their data and allowing them to make informed decisions about their privacy.
The Future of Privacy Party
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周并未提及Privacy Party何时会退出测试阶段，但目前，该服务仍可免费使用。Block Party团队专注于开发和优化Privacy Party，以满足社交媒体平台对改进隐私设置日益增长的需求。
问答：常见问题
Q1: 什么是开放API，为什么它们如此重要？ A1: 开放API是指公开提供给开发者访问平台或服务功能的应用程序编程接口。它们可以用于集成第三方应用和工具。开放API至关重要，因为它们促进了开发者之间的创新、合作和竞争，最终提升了用户体验。
Q2: 社交媒体平台存在哪些常见隐私问题？ A2: 社交媒体平台的隐私问题包括数据泄露、未经授权访问个人信息、定向广告、内容可见性以及用户对其数据的整体控制。Privacy Party旨在通过简化隐私设置并提供更大的控制和透明度来解决这些问题。
Q3: 除了Privacy Party，是否还有其他管理隐私设置的替代方案？ A3: 虽然Privacy Party提供了方便的隐私设置解决方案，但有些用户更喜欢自行浏览平台设置。大多数社交媒体平台都有自己的隐私设置和指南可供查阅。然而，这些设置可能很复杂，经常变化并被迁移，以阻止用户进行更改。Privacy Party简化了流程，并提供了专家指导，使隐私配置更加简单和有效。
Q4: 记者拥有强大隐私设置有多重要？ A4: 记者经常面临在线骚扰、披露个人信息、跟踪和威胁的风险。强大的隐私设置对于保护其个人信息和确保安全至关重要。Privacy Party专注于帮助记者在网络上保持安全，体现了解决媒体行业隐私问题的重要性。
Q5: Privacy Party对未来社交媒体平台的潜在影响是什么？ A5: Privacy Party的发展凸显了对改进隐私设置和用户对数据的控制需求日益增长。随着用户对隐私的意识增强，社交媒体平台可能需要重视透明度和用户友好的隐私配置。Privacy Party可能影响未来社交媒体平台的发展，鼓励它们加强隐私功能并更好地保护用户数据。
展望：隐私的未来
Privacy Party代表了向用户提供工具和知识以保护在线隐私的一大步。随着技术不断发展，有效的隐私解决方案的需求将继续凸显。开发人员、政策制定者和平台所有者共同合作，打造尊重个人隐私的更安全在线环境至关重要。
参考资料：
- Block Party: The Original Article
- API Changes: Understanding Twitter’s API Changes
- Seed Funding: What Founders Should Know About Fundraising in Seed Rounds
- API Regulation: The Need for Open APIs
- Challenging Privacy Settings: MWC Swayy App and the Constant Relocation of Settings
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