Proof Without Oversharing: The Lost-and-Found Privacy Challenge

A lost item should find its owner without giving useful clues to anyone who asks. Design a fair, accessible lost-and-found process that protects private details while helping the rightful owner make a successful claim. 🌟 COMPETITION OVERVIEW Create a privacy-safe service for one fictional lost item, following it from intake to return or case closure. Your design should reveal only what the public needs to know, protect distinguishing details, and work for people with different communication and technology needs. 🎯 THE MISSION • Choose one safe fictional item and invent all details. • Design a complete process covering intake, public notice, ownership check, handoff, and information deletion. • Test the process with an honest owner and a guesser. • Revise at least one part after testing. 🔍 WHAT TO INCLUDE • A public notice that shares the item category and only the minimum useful information. • A private intake record containing at least two distinguishing details that are not published. • A claim method that lets the owner provide a private detail or other safe evidence. • A handoff step that confirms the claim without exposing unnecessary information. • A clear point when stored information is deleted after return or case closure. • One accessible alternative for someone who cannot read small text, write a long response, or use a smartphone. • Two short tests: one showing how an honest owner succeeds and one showing how a guesser is stopped. • One clearly identified revision made because of the tests. • Early learners may use icons, short labels, and adult-written words; older students should explain data minimization, possible abuse, trade-offs, and safeguards in greater depth. 📋 RULES • Use a fictional item and invented details only. • Do not include real names, contact details, locations, photographs, serial numbers, passwords, biometrics, identity documents, account information, or school details. • The public notice must reveal less information than the private intake record. • Do not require money, official identification, facial recognition, fingerprints, or secret credentials. • Use plain language, icons, or diagrams so the process is easy to follow. • No coding, paid software, purchases, or real lost-and-found interaction is required. • Use original wording and visuals or properly credited reusable elements. • Keep the complete entry school-appropriate, respectful, and safe. 📤 SUBMISSION • Upload exactly one PDF containing 4–6 pages or slides. • The file must include the complete process, both test cases, the revision, and the accessible alternative. • Make all text and diagrams readable at normal viewing size. • Do not submit separate attachments, source files, or links that are required to understand the entry. 🏆 JUDGING CRITERIA • Privacy and data minimization — 30% • Usability of the complete process — 25% • Quality of the honest-owner and guesser tests, plus revision — 25% • Accessibility and fairness — 10% • Clarity and visual communication — 10% 🎁 WHY PARTICIPATE? Good services help people without collecting or revealing more information than necessary. This challenge builds privacy awareness, accessibility thinking, service design, adversarial testing, and responsible digital citizenship.