Keywords: Data Visualization, Complex Data, Visual Epistemology, Infographic
Abstract:
A design experiment done as part of my research to see if visualizing complex data can lead to engagement. In this particular project I have visualized the links on the Privacy Policy statement of Pinterest.com.
The document is 17 pages long with 4395 words just on the first page (without going into other pages from the links). To break it apart I made 14 sections of a circle (which are the different headings throughout the document). Since the document was massive, I decided to map out just the links on the document and track where each link took me.
14 sections of the Privacy Policy of Pinterest
After going through a few links I began to realize that each link was referring back to the same part of the document called the Help Center. The interesting outcome of this design experiment was that almost all internal links on the document led to Pinterest's Help Center and links to it appeared 16 times on the visualization, while other links like Contact Us, Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy appeared 14, 12, 4 and 2 times respectively.
The Help Center was the final page with a little 'Contact Us' button at the end, which ultimately led me to sign-in into my account and complete a complaint form.
Conclusion
After completing this experiment I was able to conclude that Privacy Policy statements are self referencing documents which might not be the best way to get answers regarding Privacy, User Data and how it is used by any online platform.
Exhibit at The Show 2022
Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver
