Web3 Foundation report details scale of everyday surveillance

A new white paper from the Web3 Foundation, titled ‘Everyday Surveillance: What One Ordinary Day May Reveal About You’, details the extensive amount of data collected from individuals during daily routines.

By modeling six households in Britain and America, researchers tracked how much information surrounding systems can collect, generate, or infer over a 24-hour period. The study highlights that surveillance is increasingly integrated into everyday life through devices such as smartphones, smart TVs, fitness trackers, and smart meters.

In one modeled case of an average resident in Manchester, the study found the individual was connected with 68 organizations and involved in approximately 271 processing events. The data footprint included over 1,100 biometric and physiological readings, as well as thousands of screen captures and camera captures throughout the day.