myApollo builds privacy into the UX of social media

Over the last few years social media users have woken up to the reality that the information they share online is less than secure. With privacy breaches, identity thefts, and wire-tapping scandals regularly making headlines around the world, one Toronto-based company is working on an alternative.

Harvey Medcalf, co-founder and CEO of Arroware Industries and self-described “tech junkie and privacy advocate” recently launched myApollo, a social media application that hopes to address some of those privacy concerns.

“We want to create the exact same experience, but do it in a manner that’s inherently a lot more private,” he said. “We wanted to build something where users wouldn’t have to worry about a third party watching over their shoulder — something that gave them piece of mind knowing they retain ownership of the material they put online.”

What makes myApollo unique is that it runs on a decentralized peer-to-peer network so that all conversations, pictures, and user generated content is stored on the device of the user and those in their network. This is in direct opposition to traditional social media sites that store their data on a single server. Data is also encrypted so that it is only available to the intended recipient.

“The risk of having all of that information and profile and behaviour all in a single infrastructure somewhere is that someone could potentially compromise it and start pulling out information,” said Tom Moss, director of products and services for security software company Trend Micro Inc. “Even if you trust the service provider to deal responsibly with that information, a compromise to that information means that it could end up in third party hands.”

Moss added that social media users who share a lot of personal information are more susceptible to the threat of identity theft. If someone wanted to create a fraudulent credit profile most of the information they would require is available on social media sites, and the rest can be attained more easily once a malicious user has learned their target’s online habits.

“If somebody decides they want to steal your identity (and) try and open a credit card account or try and open a bank account, you’re essentially facilitating that by sharing all this information,” he said.

It is those types of security concerns that Medcalf hopes to address with myApollo.

“With people that are out there trying to cause mischief in the digital realm, (social media users) can be a very easy target,” he said. “Just by architecting the system in a peer-to-peer manner, we allow people to disperse content among the people that they trust, on their own trusted devices. None of the user generated content is stored with myApollo.”

Medcalf believes that social media users currently accept the privacy risks associated with them because there simply is no alternative.

“We’re trying to show people that it’s not about just abiding by the current system and the current ideology,” he said. “Now is the time when people need to go out there and pioneer the systems that will allow us to continue doing what we’re doing and what we’ve identified as being important to us, and continue doing that tomorrow and in the years to come in a way that’s sustainable.”

MyApollo is currently available on Android and iOS devices with a desktop version available coming soon.