Identity Minimization

Collect only what’s necessary

Identity Minimization is the principle that SWIM collects the minimum personal information required to operate — and nothing beyond that. Not because collecting more data is legally prohibited, but because collecting more than necessary is a form of taking that we refuse to do.

Every piece of personal information a platform collects is a piece of leverage over the person who provided it. Surveillance capitalism — the practice of converting user data into behavioral targeting products — is built on the gap between what users share and what they understand is being done with it. SWIM is not in that business.

Buyer privacy

Buyers on SWIM share what’s needed to transact: enough to create an account, enough to verify a Drop exchange, enough to receive a physical delivery when applicable. We don’t build behavioral profiles. We don’t sell data to advertisers. We don’t track buyers across the web.

When a buyer visits a Stream, they’re there to browse and potentially claim an offer — not to be studied. The data generated by that interaction belongs to the merchant-buyer relationship, not to SWIM’s data products.

Merchant data sovereignty

Merchants control their business data. Sales records, customer relationships, fulfillment history — these belong to the merchant. SWIM processes this data to run the platform, but it is not ours to monetize, aggregate for third parties, or use to inform competitive decisions.

This is also why Identity Minimization and Economic Continuity are linked. A merchant’s data should be portable precisely because it belongs to them. SWIM’s role is to be a trustworthy custodian, not a data warehouse building proprietary value from merchant activity.