Author: Johannes Ernst

  • Ten years later, Paypal is already using personal URLs for money transfer

    LID turned 10 years a little while ago. Back in the days, the revolutionary idea was: everyone could have one (or several) user-specific URLs they could print that URL on their business card and all sorts of interesting services could be attached to that URL, such as: single-sign-on into any website standardized transfer of personal…

  • Closing my Spotify account

    You actually need to fill out a form which is really hard to find (here it is if you need it). Here’s what I said: 1. Please close my account immediately. 2. Please immediately delete all information that you have about me or my activities on Spotify or otherwise. 3. Please immediately advise all third…

  • Response from Spotify

    I sent a note to the Spotify e-mail address that they published for questions re their new privacy policy. This is what I got back: Hello Johannes, Thanks for getting in touch. If you have not already read our blog posts: Please see here for an overview of some of the updates in the Terms…

  • Bye, bye, Spotify! It was nice while it lasted

    I have been a Spotify user for years. They don’t offer all the world’s music, but it is close. Recordings that I never would have bought, and so I never would have heard, just a click away. Absolutely amazing. World-altering, for music lovers. Now I’m leaving. Why? Because not even the NSA is accused of…

  • Drowning in unmanaged personal data

    I don’t know what changed, but in recent months, I’ve started to feel overwhelmed by the amount of personal data that I have an interest in, that I’d like to keep, and that is entirely unmanaged by either me or anybody else. Here are some examples. Note they are “non-traditional” personal data in the sense…