17dbouchier
commented
4 years ago 14/06
Issue closed
This issue has now been closed. Since the initial opening of this issue, I have turned the 'privacy enhanced mode' on for every YouTube video which has been embedded into this website. Furthermore, I have made good on the goal to add a clear disclaimer to each page which warned the user of the possible privacy risks that they may be taking by playing the videos on the page.
As of writing this, the disclaimer looks like this:
The hyperlink leads to a third party website which contains more information on this issue. The 'That's OK' button closes the disclaimer, however it will still appear when the user visits another page on the website which includes these embedded YouTube videos. I have been unable to find a solution to this problem in time for the deadline for this assignment.
Overall, I believe that I have developed a sufficient solution to the issue at hand, and I have improved the quality of the website, particularly regarding the relevant implication of privacy.
Improvements to be made
Improvements that I would make to the disclaimer component, if I had more time, would be entirely aesthetic, as well as the issue regarding the persistence of this particular component when the user visits other non-homepages across the website.
07/06
Summary of issue
As mentioned in the development log for this project, the design of the 'What is AI?' etc. pages implemented embedded YouTube videos in order to lessen the amount of reading that a user had to do, thus maximising engagement with the content and minimising boredom. However, as I was embedding the most recent videos that I found into the 'Business' page, I noticed a checkbox saying 'Enable privacy-enhanced mode' when selecting the options for how the video would be embedded:
According to YouTube.com, enabling this feature ensures that Google will not collect data on the user using cookies unless the user plays the video. I was unaware that Google was collecting data from the user at all, let alone without them playing the video in the first place. This has everything to do with the Relevant Implication of Privacy.
I am unsure of the true nature of the data collection that Google may be performing, and I will conduct further research on this issue.
Possible solutions
To minimise the possible intrusion on the user's privacy, I will ensure that this feature is enabled across all YouTube videos which have been embedded in the pages throughout the website, as well as all videos in the future. Furthermore, I realise that Google has made it clear that they will still collect data on the user once they play the video. To combat this issue, I will likely add an apparent disclaimer on each of these pages to indicate to the user that the collection of their data may occur when they play a YouTube video. This indicator will likely be placed below the coloured banner, in a distinctive red colour to ensure that the user notices the alert.