thinking...
Fly on the Wall is a digital project aiming to educate users about some information that can easily be collected about them when they use the internet. While none of the information that can be collected without the user's permission may be highly sensitive or personal*, we believe the users should still be aware of what websites can learn about them. As the world becomes increasingly digital with each passing day, the need for users to be aware of how their data may be collected (and why, for that matter) becomes more apparent.
The name is inspired from quite literally imagining what a fly sitting on the wall can learn about you. You are using your device currently; if a fly had the intellectual capabilities, it could probably tell your location, time of the day, weather, the type of device you're using, etc. by just observing you from where it is hanging out on the wall - and you wouldn't have a clue!
*unless someone deliberately implements unethical code to collect sensitive info without the user's consent.
The Fly knew your info the minute you accessed this website! Such info is usually available to access through ethical coding due to one need: websites need to know such information in order to render properly and provide relevant information.
Device information is accessible in order to adapt varying screen sizes and for compatibility with operating systems and browsers.
The location and currency help provide relevant results when the user searches something. For example, when looking up a product, you probably want to know it's price in the currency you use, and whether it's available near you!
The code implemented in this project made use of the following interfaces to collect user info:
This project was made by Jeremy Kemp '25 and Yumna Ahmed '25 from Davidson College, under the guidance of Prof. Owen Mundy. It was made as part of the DIG-245 Critical Web Design class offered Fall 2023.