Make data feel human

Are our data systems designed to understand people, or just to measure them?

The Data Human is a human-centred way of thinking about data, behaviour and personalization. It looks past metrics and models to intent, context and experience, and it tries to measure the part everybody feels but nobody scores.

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Facebook, scored on the five dimensions of the Data Human Index. Twelve out of twenty, and the shape says more than the number.

The Data Human Index

How human does a brand's data experience actually feel?

Most brands say they respect your data. The Index measures whether they actually do, using only what any user can observe, in about twenty minutes. One question per dimension, scored zero to four, no inside access required.

Transparency

Can people find out what is being collected and why?

Consent

Is sharing data a real choice?

Clarity

Would someone actually understand what they are agreeing to?

Control

Is withdrawing as easy as granting?

Empathy

Is this designed for real people or ideal ones?

0–7 Extraction-first

Data practices are built around the brand's needs. Expect dark patterns, buried controls and walls of legal text.

8–13 Developing

Genuine effort is visible but gaps remain. You can navigate it, but you have to work for it.

14–18 Trust-aware

Real care across most dimensions with one or two weaknesses. Thinking about experience, not just compliance.

19–20 Human-centred

Transparent, respectful and genuinely designed with the user in mind. Data as a relationship, not a resource.

Score a brand yourself

Real scores, real brands

Same score. Completely different story.

Facebook and TikTok both land on twelve out of twenty. Scored one dimension at a time, in a private browser window, using only what any visitor can see.

Facebook

12/20 · Developing

Ceiling scores on Transparency and Clarity. Floor scores on Consent and Control. The information is there but the power is not.

TikTok

12/20 · Developing

The only brand in the dataset to score zero on any dimension, yet account deletion is easier here than almost anywhere we have scored.

The score is just the starting point. The shape is where the story is.

See the evidence behind every number

Latest writing

Short essays on behaviour, trust and the human side of data

Where data-driven systems succeed, where they fall short, and why so many experiences feel out of sync with what people actually expect.

May 20, 2026 The Data Human Index in Practice: Apple 4 min May 13, 2026 The Data Human Index in Practice: Facebook and TikTok 4 min April 2, 2026 How the Index Actually Works 4 min

All writing

Ideas in progress

The ideas here are not presented as finished answers. They include behavioural signals, ethical personalization, trust-centred design, and a concept called The Consumer Hypocrisy. They are evolving, and explored in the open.