E Is for E-gregious

HERE’S THE DEAL.

Sign up and you get free, yours to download, software that will ensure your privacy on the Internet, allow you to complete Web site and e-commerce forms with a single click, and provide you with an alias to navigate the Web discreetly, if not secretly.

But wait, there’s more. This software will provide “just in time” privacy ratings for any Web site you may visit whose privacy policy the company has reviewed.

Sound good? A San Diego-based company called Enonymous thinks so. It launched a year ago to develop and market this concept to consumers who’re concerned about their online privacy.

Their tag line is “Privacy made simple.” The tag line could just as well be “Profit made simple.”

Enonymous makes its money from the companies whose privacy policies it rates for consumers.

According to Enonymous.com spokeswoman Karen Hayes, when users sign on for the Enonymous Adviser they create a profile that lists their basic likes and interests. They can then opt in to receive information from companies targeting consumers with those interests.

Furthermore, the site will have banner ads, which are expected to generate revenue. The sites will be restricted to those with the top rating and Enonymous is considering the possibility of affiliate relationships with such sites.

And it would seem that the e-merchants themselves may request Enonymous ratings. Merchants may also receive general demographic data about the sorts of visitors to their sites that linked from Enonymous.

Hayes adds that the “revenue model” for Enonymous is still evolving, so while these features are planned, not all of them may actually be put into practice.

As for the privacy rating system, it has six levels: four stars, for contact with permission; three stars, for share with permission; two stars, contact without permission; one star, for share without permission; as well as “No privacy policy” and “Site not reviewed.”

So far the ratings are not all that surprising. For example, Earthlink.net and Digitalcity.com get four stars, as does America Online – although its Netscape subsidiary earns only one.

Nevertheless, we’ll stick to Consumer Reports, thank you (see Interactive, DIRECT, January).