Navigating Social Media Data Privacy: How Platforms Like Bonder Are Leading the Way

Many people today are turning to online platforms like social media to form connections. However, according to Scott Swanson, the founder and CEO of the revolutionary communication platform Bonder, these social media platforms claiming to unite us are causing much more harm than good.

Restoring connection to the world

Despite the seemingly interconnected nature of today’s online world, we might not be as connected as it may seem. The social media tools we use to “connect” with one another are actually separating us more than they are connecting us by reducing us to mere data points that can be sold to advertisers.

However, those looking for a social connection platform that focuses firmly on forming legitimate connections with others will soon find refuge in Bonder. According to Swanson, Bonder is “not a social media company but a location-based communication platform” that aims to “elevate people up and out of a social media environment and bring them into a new home.”

“We don't care about you having 20 million followers or 300,000 likes on a post you make,” Swanson adds. “We want you to be on this platform and see everyone you know you’ve touched.”

How Bonder is challenging data privacy expectations

What’s worse about the status quo of social media is that many users are unaware of the data privacy rights they are signing away. Beyond those users who ignore the terms of use and privacy policy — accounting for approximately 4 out of 5 people — there has been research showing that these agreements are often written with deliberately confusing language. Ultimately, these apps are not the businesses they claim to be but data collection companies whose profit comes from selling user data.

Because Bonder does not collect user data, it is paving the way as a first-of-its-kind communication platform that offers unparalleled levels of data privacy. People have become conditioned to a world in which the only way they can connect with others is because of algorithms that analyze their data to determine their interests, but Bonder puts the opportunity to choose back into users’ hands because each user must opt-in to share their information.

“Each user is geofenced, and they can choose to share their location to have a better experience,” says Swanson. “When you walk into an environment such as a retailer, the app will light up. You’ll see people, places, products, discounts and offers, and private circles you can join that are unique to that location — all to improve your experience. When you leave, you go off the grid in a totally private ecosystem you built by inviting people you have met via a personal encounter.”

The monitoring conducted by traditional social media platforms is also often troubling. For example, reports speculated that TikTok’s app could track users’ keystrokes. Although the social media company attempted to explain this away by claiming that this was necessary for “troubleshooting,” what is there to prevent these platforms from collecting this information for other purposes?

Swanson lists this as an example of something that Bonder has not and will never do. “We have no value in collecting data,” he asserts. “Our company has created substantial revenue that will exceed their models without ever having to sell data. Because of this, we don’t even have anything that the government would want, or that people would want. We're not putting it in a pool where it becomes attractive to the wrong people.”

Still, Bonder’s lack of data collection isn’t the only defense the platform offers its users for their data. The app’s communities are invite-only, meaning users must choose to invite one another into their networks and groups, which effectively eliminates the possibility of bots, scammers, and other third parties with nefarious intent taking advantage of the system to the detriment of users and their data privacy.

Because of this structure, Bonder is also able to function as a communication platform without censorship. “These are private ecosystems,” explains Swanson. “We are not monitoring; there’s no censorship. The people within that community can moderate what they feel is appropriate or not from within their circle.”

Redefining social connection

With all these data protections, it is clear that Bonder is not your average social media platform, but is instead forging its own path as a comprehensive communication platform — pioneering a new category of location-based communication that does not rely on users’ data as its source of revenue. As Swanson explains, “Bonder provides value to consumers and retailers by forming genuine connections that reach beyond the digital world.”