Dave is a co-founder of Privacy By Default. Brought up in the USA and UK, he studied Philosophy and Economics at University College London, before becoming an online data security advocate.

Dave stridently believes that the initial setting of any software, hardware or firmware that could be used to gather information about its user should be 'disabled' by default.

The option to enable these data gathering features (either on a one-off basis or permanently) would be offered to the user as-and-when required. This approach would provide timely, context relevant information and an informed choice to the user.

Each setting should provide clear information on why the personal data is needed by the product/software, how it will be used and who it will be shared with.