It’s hard, if not altogether impossible, to make a move online that isn’t being tracked by someone. Companies that want to know what you’re doing with your time in cyberspace can fairly easily find out through cookies, tags or site registrations, and they can then use this data to direct you where they want you to go. Why shouldn’t you make the data work for you too?

That’s the philosophy of the new startup, Voyurl. By registering and installing a browser plug-in, all you have to do is surf the web as usual and the data collection begins. What sets this service apart is that instead of selling your data to someone else, Voyurl simply gives it back to you with colorful charts and fun facts about what you do online. It then recommends websites that it thinks you will like based on other users who behave like you, all without sharing this data with anyone else.

Voyurl’s main goal is all about empowerment, giving you the opportunity to receive benefits by voluntarily sharing your data. How this will specifically happen is unclear, and the site is still in private Beta-testing mode.

In the meantime, I have activated an account and am excited to see what recommendations my browsing yields. Whether or not I’ll end up handing over my data to interested parties will depend on what the proclaimed “benefits” of doing so will be. It’s one thing to know they’re collecting data on me, but it’s another to actively make the decision to help them. If the benefits are good enough and specific enough to my interests, a future of online opt-in only tracking might start to seem more feasible.

Keep watching for Voyurl Part 2 – Fun Facts and Colorful Charts