What was your first reaction when you opened the index for this site and found yourself on a page asking for personal information? Did you question our motives? Did you consider the possibility that three Swarthmore students would be gathering your personal data in order to use it against you someday? Before answering the questions, did you wonder where the data would be stored, how it would be transmitted there, and whether it would be safe? Sure, it looked safe (especially with the subconscious feeling applied by the background image of locks), but was it really?
Now, if only we could get you to ask the same questions of commercial sites.
We didn't store any information you might have put on the site. It wasn't transmitted anywhere. In fact, the submit button was fake. But, could you tell the difference? It's very difficult to find out just how safe your information is in the hands of someone else across the fiber-optic strands.
With the growth of e-commerce, it is harder and harder to keep personal information private. So, for the solutions you're looking for, go no further than The Privacy and Anonymity Project Website