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This Startup Wants to Build a “GitHub for Data”

Andrew Orr ·

A startup called Gretel wants to build a “GitHub for data” so developers can safely access sensitive data.

Often, developers don’t need full access to a bank of user data — they just need a portion or a sample to work with. In many cases, developers could suffice with data that looks like real user data.

This so-called “synthetic data” is essentially artificial data that looks and works just like regular sensitive user data. Gretel uses machine learning to categorize the data — like names, addresses and other customer identifiers — and classify as many labels to the data as possible. Once that data is labeled, it can be applied access policies. Then, the platform applies differential privacy — a technique used to anonymize vast amounts of data — so that it’s no longer tied to customer information.

 

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This Company Sells Your Credit Card Data

Andrew Orr ·

Yodlee is the biggest financial data broker in the U.S., and it routinely sells your credit card data to investment and research firms.

The Yodlee document describes in detail what type of data its clients gain access to, how the company manages that data across its infrastructure, and the specific measures Yodlee takes to try and anonymize its dataset…Once logged into Yodlee’s server, clients download the data as a large text file, rather than interacting with the data in a dashboard or interface that stays solely within Yodlee’s control, according to the document.

Cool Stuff Found

Native Union Releases Drop XL Watch Edition Charger

Andrew Orr ·

Native Union today announced the release of its newest product, the Drop XL Watch Edition. It’s a wireless charging pad for your Apple Watch, iPhone, and AirPods, and they can all be charged at the same time. The charging puck for the Apple Watch is detachable, so you can free up the device for an additional USB-A port if needed. The design looks a lot like Apple’s failed AirPower product, and it’s covered in a slate-colored fabric. It comes with AC Power Adapter and a 6.5ft / 2m USB-C to USB-A braided cable. You can order one today for US$149.99.