Understanding and influencing decisions
Activity log
Description
A chronological record of events. These records can contain an action taken, when, by whom or what and the reason why.
For example, you can see a log of your activity kept by Google. This can include your search history, websites visited on Chrome, videos seen on Youtube, the apps you have used in your Android phone or your location history.
IF thinks that allowing people to see a record of actions taken or data recorded about them is an essential step towards making a service more transparent. This record should be made actionable by allowing people to query events, tweak permissions in context or setup auto-delete.
Advantages
- Proof of when an action was taken, by whom and the reason why.
- Check if permissions are being followed.
Limitations
- Can be challenging to present the log in a way that makes it useful or actionable, depending on the granularity and frequency of recorded events.
- It’s difficult to prove that all events that should be in the log are in the log.
Examples
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A private record showing actions someone has taken in Google services, such as Google searches, Chrome and Youtube history, apps used in Android or location history.
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A list of locations the phone has been in and then recorded, which helps Siri choose a person’s home and work location.
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Your bank's record of transactions can also be considered an activity log.
Related patterns
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