This for one of the behemoths that already have us logged in during most of our web journeys. Google, Facebook. Microsoft/MSN/Live/Hotmail…

When making a purchase or signing up for a subscription, you get a page pre-filled with all of your pertinent info:

• name
• email
• address
• credit card
• age
• mother’s maiden name

and so on…

The sign up page is controlled by Google, Facebook, whoever.

Each field has a statement alongside it specifying how the data would be used. This forms part of a legal agreement of the same. Not unlike when you get an Apple app and you are told which aspects of your iPhone/iPad would be open to them. But take it step further and state precisely what the data could/would be used for.

Just using tick-boxes and extended info from the merchant, you can quickly decide which data to let them use, and which to not.

The tick-boxes can be pre-filled, but if they are, the merchant must allow ratings from every user regarding how they feel about those preselections. Ask for too much unnecessarily and feel the backlash.

PayPal could do this. The key problem – credit card details – would be already out of the mix. That’s a bold sales pitch – we already protect your credit card details, let us protect everything else.