On the surface, this is a designer’s quest to responsibly gather analytics on a privacy-respecting website: rich, actionable data to support strategy and design decisions. Are simplistic page view counters the only alternative to creepy tracking? Is spoiling the user experience with consent banners inevitable for proper insight?

While navigating ethical imperatives, technological intricacies, and legal ambiguities, it soon becomes apparent how designing for privacy is about much more than just reducing data: establishing the paradigm shift from surveillance to privacy requires nothing less than to unlearn old truths and radically rethink.