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Tim Berners-Lee, the man who invented the concept of the World Wide Web in 1989, has announced the first step in his privacy for all project, Solid. A Solid server is now available for any organization wishing to start testing the platform.
Solid was first announced in 2018 as a way to give control of user data to individuals, rather than online services …
Currently, we all have personal data stored on servers owned by tech giants like Apple, Facebook and Google. With Solid, all of our personal data is stored in a secure repository that we control. It can be our own home server or a Solid provider chosen by us – but the key is that we control our data and decide which websites and apps have access to which things. We can also revoke permissions at any time.
Within the Solid ecosystem, you decide where you store your data. The photos you take, the comments you write, the contacts in your address book, calendar events, the number of miles you walk each day from your fitness tracker… it’s all stored in your Solid POD. This Solid POD can be in your home or workplace, or with an online Solid POD provider of your choice. Since you own your data, you are free to move it around at any time, with no downtime.
You allow users and your applications to read or write to parts of your Solid POD. So, every time you open a new app, you never have to fill in your information again: it is read from your POD with your permission. Items saved through one app are available in another – you never need to sync, because your data stays with you.
Your Solid POD would also act as an alternative to a username and password to sign in to third-party services.
Berners-Lee said the issue of privacy was so important that he was stepping down from his web job to focus on Solid through a startup called Inrupt. CNET reports that Inrupt has tested Solid and now has an enterprise server available for purchase. The price was not disclosed.
Inrupt has tested its service with the BBC, NatWest Bank and the National Health Service in the UK, as well as with the Flemish government in recent months. On Monday, the company made its Enterprise Solid Server, the infrastructure that supports the service, available to any interested customer.
“The technologies we are releasing today are part of a much needed course correction for the Web,” Berners-Lee said in a statement. “Ultimately, this new base of trust and cooperation will lead to entirely new business models that will also benefit users.”
As we noted three years ago, the big challenge for Solid will be adoption, both by businesses and individuals – but today at least brings us a little closer.
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