We are now in a modern era where data is now the new crude, gold, and basically every other commodity word you can pick to qualify it. Being the lifeblood of your business, data is inevitably needed in all your operational processes from start to finish. Be it a huge corporation or a promising start-up, information security can make or brutally break your business.
Recently, the fight for users’ data and privacy has heated up so much that users are beginning to look for every possible means to at least ensure they are in control of their data or at the barest minimum, know what tech companies are doing with their data and footprints.
Several agencies such as GDPR, NDPR, and many more have ruled that users have every right to their data and also have a “right to be forgotten,” but in reality, tracking the spread of your data online and then getting it removed is a logistical and technical nightmare.
This is where a Tel Aviv-based company, Mine, comes in with hopes to change that narrative. The startup built a platform that aims to be a one-stop-shop for discovering your digital footprint and submitting RTBF (Right To Be Forgotten) requests.
According to Mine, basically every individual average at least 400 companies that have access to their digital data, of which 80% are services the individual no longer uses.
To understand how Mine really works, let’s start with a brief refresher on the regulations involved. RTBF was given a fresh breath of life by a European court in a case involving Google. Back in May 2018, the EU General Data Protection Directive went into effect and further compart RTBF into law. This was followed in January 2020 by the California Consumer Privacy Act, which similarly requires that people be able to access and delete their data at any time.
With Mine, you can discover all the companies that hold your personal data in 30 seconds. Then, with one click, request your right-to-be-forgotten, from any company you choose! Our goal is to help you reduce unnecessary online exposure, without compromising your digital experience.
These rules have prompted quite a growing number of companies to set up clearer procedures for responding to such requests from consumers and users. With data flowing across borders, companies, and datacenters, it’s even complicated for some companies to know precisely whether an individual’s data was or was not handled in one of these regulatory zones. So in that sense, you can make a request without having to prove a particular location.
Mine on the other hand is taking advantage of this with their service. The company has been using machine learning to scour company websites to decipher their RTBF procedures.
The startup can discover all the companies that hold your personal data in 30 seconds. Then, with just one click, request your right-to-be-forgotten (RTBF), from any company you choose!
Mine’s goal is to help users reduce unnecessary online exposure, without compromising users’ digital experience.
Mine is also working with many of these companies to improve their RTBF process. If Mine catches on to what is expected of them, it’s easy to imagine companies being overwhelmed by countless requests. Ringel, who is the Co-founder as well as CEO at Mine, doesn’t want that to happen, and it offers feedback to help simplify and manage such requests.
As for Mine’s business model, their service is free for now but the company seems to be developing a premium level of services that will include additional tools for monitoring and managing a user’s data footprint, including notifications about data breaches.
Click here to download Mine