Explicit consent

Explicit consent is informed, enthusiastic confirmation in support of any action, from all parties involved. It’s that simple!

Implicit consent

Implicit consent is also known as “assumed” consent - this is when a person assumes that they have received another person’s consent to interact with them or their data. This is where a lot of grey areas exist in software and in daily life.

Basically, if you’re not sure you have someone’s consent to do something - you should ask!

Consent is like tea

If you’re still not sure what consent is, it’s as simple as tea.

Consensual software

Consensual software is a design pattern that asks for the user’s consent. It can be applied to UX, software engineering, and data storage.

Consensual software is software that asks for the user’s explicit permission to interact with them or their data.

Consensual software respects users’ privacy and does not trick or coerce users into giving away permissions or data.

Consensual software adheres to the principle of least privilege, where the software should have the least amount of permissions granted possible.

Consensual software informs privacy by design by making sure consent is the default setting and embedded by design.

Consensual software builds social capital and trust with users by respecting their boundaries.

Consensual software asks for permission first, rather than begging for forgiveness later.

Why make this site?

We wanted to make this site so that we could start a conversation about ethical, consensual software. We wanted to be sure that users’ privacy and rights were being respected by building a framework that could be incorporated into our daily workflows.

Tech is an inescapable part of our daily lives. With the Internet of Things and more and more wifi and Bluetooth-enabled devices in our homes, there’s no protection for consumers’ data from the companies that manufacture these devices. It’s up to us as software engineers, product managers, and architects to build consent into every feature we build so that we protect the privacy of our users.