User-owned data stores
What is a Personal Data Store in Basic
Summary
User-owned Personal Data Stores (PDS’s) are cloud instances that are always under the control of the primary user that is assigned to them. While data may be shared with apps, devices, and other users, the decision to do so is always made by (and can be reverted by) the primary user.
This is in contrast with prevailing centralized data ownership models.
Centralized data ownership
Traditionally, an app or website (aka. service) that you use has a centralized data ownership model. Data that gets generated by you - the user - exists together with the data that the service generates in a database owned and controlled by the respective service.
Lets take the example of Google Docs. If you’re typing up a document, you are not only using the interface (application layer) to type and format the document, but also store the data with Google (backend and database layer).
If one day you stop paying for your Google Docs, you will likely not be able to (or are limited in the way you can) access your documents. Similarly, if Google decides to shut down Google Docs as a product (perhaps unlikely in the instance of Google Docs, but not unfathomable given their long history of sunsetting products), you will lose your information.
Sometimes, apps and websites provide you the ability to export this data (CSV, PDF, etc.), but this is largely dependent on the offering. Often, this exporting process is tedious, requires many calls with customer support, or may even require payment.
Ultimately, the app or website that you’re using often has ownership and control of your data - or at the least, is an intermediary that you have to interact with in order to retrieve, change, or delete your data.
When we mention centralized data ownership, it is an important distinction that we aren’t referring to centralized data storage (i.e., how the data is stored in a monolithic or centralized database vs. a distributed database).
Rather, we’re referring to who has ownership and control of the data.
Problems with centralized data ownership
Here is a rough abstraction of the data flow in a centralized system.
This diagram clearly depicts 3 of the problems with this system:
Fragmentation of user data
User A’s data is spread across multiple databases owned by different apps and websites. The data is likely to be in different formats, limiting its utility and increasing the complexity of integration.
Lack of data control
User data is generally only interactable through APIs of the respective services. This approach relies on individual services to implement APIs, and to decide what data to share or not. If the services were to shut down or if users were to stop paying for them, they’d likely lose access to their data.
Bloated backend and database layers
Apps and websites have larger and more complex backend and database layers because of having to manage data, Auth, and other complex data operations for all their users.
User-owned Personal Data Stores
Instead of relying on apps and websites to control and own the data that you generate, we believe that you should be the proprietor of your data. We propose a system of User-owned Personal Data Stores (PDS’s).
There are other proposed solutions to this problem, e.g., blockchain, P2P networks. We will discuss tradeoffs in a separate article (coming soon).
In it’s essence, a PDS is a cloud instance with an assigned primary user. The primary user is the ultimate owner of the data within that instance - they can make all decisions around who the data is shared with and how it can be updated. It will always belong with them, and they can take that data with them wherever they go.
The PDS is depicted for an individual. In the case of a business, the PDS would be owned by primary admins, but the same principles would apply.
The illustration depicts what a PDS may look like. It would contain data of the primary user like documents, health records, and photos. The PDS interacts with apps, devices, and other users’ PDS’s.
The primary user can initiate or severe connections with any apps, devices, and users at any time. Since user data is stored in the PDS instead of being held in the respective apps or websites, you may interface with your data across multiple apps and devices interchangeably - e.g., imagine typing up the first half of a document in Google Docs, and finishing it up in Microsoft Word.
User-owned PDS as a bedrock for data operations
User owned PDS’s provide 3 major benefits:
Consolidation of user data
Rather than your data being fragmented across all the different apps and websites you use, it remains in a single space that can be queried. In the Google Docs example, all the words that you type up on the document are stored in your PDS. Any words you may type up in Microsoft Word may also stored in the same PDS.
Developers will read and write data to your PDS for all the data that pertains to you. For example, you could imagine alternating between Google Docs and Microsoft Word for the same document, and the words you type would seamlessly appear in either apps interoperably.
Control and ownership of your data
Your data remains in your PDS regardless of the availability of APIs or the shuttering of services. It belongs to you forever, and will be available for use with any future services.
For example, even if Google Docs were to shut down, you could access the words you typed up on Google Docs via Microsoft Word or other word processing software.
Simplified applications
Apps and websites can be developed with much simpler architectures since they no longer need to own or manage user data. Basic enables developers to build apps without backend and database layers, and they can focus on building a better user experience in their application layer.
In summary, Basic is a protocol for creating open-source, user-owned Personal Data Stores (PDS’s). We make full-stack tooling (Auth, DB, etc.) to help developers build more interoperable applications without having to worry about privacy for their users.
If you’re curious about developing with Basic and user-owned PDS’s, you can get started by signing up for Basic.