Privacy, From Principle to Practice
What does privacy really mean on the web? And how do you build digital experiences that protect it by default? These are the questions at the heart of Understanding Privacy, a new book by tech policy and regulation specialist Heather Burns, published by Smashing Magazine. The print edition is now shipping worldwide.
The book is written for designers, developers, and project managers who want to move beyond treating privacy as a legal checkbox. Burns draws on her work across human rights, law, policy, and web development to present privacy as a set of fundamental concepts and values — ones you can integrate into your daily work to create safer, more inclusive interfaces.
- eBook available as PDF, ePUB, and Amazon Kindle.
- Free worldwide shipping on print orders from Germany.
- DRM-free eBook formats.
- Print hardcover + eBook bundle available at $44.00; eBook only at $19.00.
Not a Legal Manual
The book explicitly avoids being a legal reference. Instead, it aims to shift your perspective from privacy as a scary compliance obligation to a positive, user-centric opportunity. It covers the values that precede privacy as a legal issue, as well as the practical ways these concepts impact your work today.
A free PDF sample chapter (11MB) is available to download if you want to preview the content before buying.
What You Will Learn
- The fundamental concepts, definitions, and frameworks behind privacy and data protection.
- How to build a healthy approach to user privacy into everything you design and build.
- Common privacy issues and how you can make a difference in addressing them.
- Critical areas that lay the groundwork for future developers, designers, and project managers.
- The obligations we have to safeguard user privacy and health data.
How the Book Is Organized
The book is structured in four main sections plus a postscript, each tackling a different angle on privacy:
- Privacy and You — Reviews the core concepts, definitions, and frameworks underlying privacy and data protection.
- Privacy and Your Work — Discusses how to integrate a healthy approach to user privacy into your role, whether you are a designer, developer, or project manager.
- Privacy and Your Users — Covers user privacy issues where you can make a tangible difference, including the power dynamics of what you create.
- Privacy and Your Future — Suggests critical areas for making the web a better place and preparing for tomorrow's users.
- Postscript: Privacy and Health Data — Addresses recent obligations around safeguarding user privacy and health data.
Understanding Privacy is 288 pages, written by Heather Burns, with cover design by Espen Brunborg. Both the eBook and print editions are available now, and print orders ship free worldwide.
