Data Playground Web3.0 App

About the project

Data playground is an app created for the Smart Waterloo Region Innovation Lab. The goal was to create an app that is used as a platform to keep data stored in a safe manner and improve access to community events, groups, and voting. The app is built in Web 3.0, which means that it uses a decentralized system that runs on the blockchain. Users of the Data playground app are able to participate without fear of monetization of their personal data.

Problem statement

Users of the Data playground app need to be able to understand how their data protected, store data, be able to take surveys, vote, register for community events, and create households groups.

Impact

Check out our white paper

Overview

The Data Playground project aims to create a modular and replicable framework for a network of networks. In order to implement such a system, we will be using Distributed Ledger Technology such as blockchains. Blockchains are ideal for this project, as they provide an important technical structure that helps create a network and maintain an immutable public ledger across all members of the network. The entire network works on a Zero-Trust basis, which means there isn’t any central authority and the nature of the network is decentralized. This significantly increases the transparency in the network.

The increasing awareness about data ownership and authorship shows how much we are in need of a new platform. Our project is created via a user-centric data model. To achieve this, we will be using a Decentralized Cloud Storage. One of the greatest advantages of using a Decentralized system is the lack of central authority. For example, Facebook, a system we are all familiar with, uses a centralized system, where users share their data on Facebook’s third-party platforms, and Facebook is the center of authority. Thus, it can utilize and share the data however they like, meaning the users have to place a vast amount of trust in Facebook to not abuse their data. On the other hand, our project has no single authority, and therefore, no single point of failure. Our system uses fully encrypted data and stores it across multiple devices (also known as nodes) of the decentralized cloud network. Through our framework, the users have ownership of their own data and have the ability to access their data through the cloud – which makes it easy to access from anywhere.

Another great benefit of our model is that it creates a secure and anonymous data-sharing platform. In order to achieve this, we are using several technologies including Decentralized Identities (DIDs), Blockchain technology, and the Decentralized Cloud. In simple terms, the DIDs are the user’s digital identity that stores reference to the user’s data (this can be credentialed, such as a driver’s license). DIDs are another way of shifting data ownership back to its users. Figure 2 shows an overview of the platform and how data requests operate. The process starts with the user connecting their digital identity to their digital wallets, which maintain anonymity at all-time in the digital world. Then once an organization requests the user’s data, the user has a choice to share their data, with the ability to revoke it at any time.

We believe that our framework will truly give data ownership back to the users. It will create an ecosystem for smooth flow of consented data .In conclusion, our system is focused on shifting the data ownership and authority back to the users.

Key takeaways

The final design includes a complex back-end, front-end, and UX design. So many amazing people were involved and consulted on this project.

Learnings

Truly, no platform like the Data Playground Web3 App exists. No, softer engineering class or UX/UI book, Pinterest surfing moodboard, or testing out could have truly prepared us for this complex project.

If we could time-travel and start this project again...

• We would create a more thought out use case
• Manage our time better and involve more people
• Set a time limit for research, mood boarding, and road mapping, rather than get lost in it

Thanks To...

Krish, Sankalp, Ishit, and Saba for working so hard on getting this project off the ground in a crazy fast timeline (just 6 months)! You all did an amazing job at creating the framework and network. Thank you Grayson for being our amazing lab manager and supporting us throughout the way. Thank you Elizabeth for creating the User Experience (UX) and (UI)! And a special thanks to Jumanah, Ashleigh-Ann, and Jahmeeks a for being so supportive! We could not have done it without any of you <3

Now what?

The app will launch by the end of 2022 so be on the look out for it!