Monitoring your browsing: Hindsight, A Chrome Extension

Hindsight, a new Chrome browser extension, can help you keep track of how much time you are spending online and where. This is a simple extension from Joe Edelman, a social scientist who has worked with Tristan Harris. Harris and his collaborators are currently working to develop ” a framework for ethical influence, especially as it relates to the moral responsibility of technology companies.” (www.tristanharris.com)

The extension sits on your Chrome extension bar and records the website URLs and the amount of time you spend on each site. When you click on the icon, you can see the URL and time spent. You are invited to do a self-assessment of your activities. Click on the “+” to assess your browsing and you are asked: “I was feeling ______.”; “I often _______”; “I want to be more ________.”; “I’d like to ________ more often”. When you fill in these reasons, you’ll be asked whether this site was useful for your goals.

This is a very interesting, new social media experiment with only a few users. Though clearly in beta mode, it is a very functional tool.

Please remember, you are sharing the anonymous data from your browsing with this research group. While I believe these are reputable researchers with legitimate research goals, you should carefully consider whether you wish to share your information. This extension may easily be turned on and off in Chrome Extensions.

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