We were inspired by our personal experiences with using our screens in public settings, and we wanted to have a fun/funny idea that we felt passionate about because it was quirky and unique to us.
Our chrome extension manipulates the text on your web page to make it harder for shoulder surfers to see what is on your screen, by adding filters to it.
Javascript, HTML/CSS.
Coming up with an idea, that was doable and solved a privacy problem. We were not familiar with building chrome extensions, and the vast majority of the knowledge needed to make our project was learnt during the hackathon. We relied, on our core computer science skills and knowledge and applied them here. We had some experience with making basic websites, but some things we wanted to do in an extension were different/more complicated for security reasons and we had to overcome those obstacles.
We are proud of the original idea, and the sleek design and implementation. When the extension operates it is visually pleasing and subtle, and enhances the privacy of the user in a creative and funky way. We ran into a few hurdles due to our limited technical backgrounds and lack of experience with hackathons, but we all collaborated so that we could learn as quickly as to best implement the vision we had.
We were not very familiar with web development, with only a few of us only having had a brush with it many years ago.We learned a lot about how small details can have a large impact on the UI and design, and what an impact bad design has on the experience of the user. Everyone learned a lot about javascript, and even learned about web scraping, as well as the differences in design, implementation, and usage of chrome extensions versus website, and had to overcome some of the quirks that came with the added functionality of a chrome extension. Also having to work on one project between four people made us learn how to build a program with a strong foundation and with better planning, because without that dividing the work between four people in a way that would actually be an advantage would be harder.
PrivaSeeable at it's core is an immediate solution to privacy, that concerns every person who uses technology in public. Most people don't necessarily understand cryptocurrency, nor is it widely used yet, end to end encryption and how it keeps them safe. We don't deny that these are the technologies of the future, and will help shape what privacy and security will look like moving forward, but the average person will not want to go out of their way to learn, and use a solution for a problem they don't understand. PrivaSeeable acts as a filter from the prying eyes of all those around us, that we all feel gazing at us and out screens as we try to orient and navigate in this digital age. We will continue to add more options for filters to your text on your screens, so that users can pick between options that allow them to read their private text, but not strangers. As well as adding more customization, so that the user can be more comfortable to these filters, and it would increase the discomfort that the "peepers" feel when trying to invade your privacy.