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Design that encourages deletion
In Design 11Patterns that Encourage Junk Data, Michelle talks about the environmental cost of creating and storing so much of our data in the ‘cloud’:
the need for limitless digital storage bumps up against the very real physical limits of our planet.
(From: CSS { In Real Life } | Design 11Patterns that Encourage Junk Data)
She explains it's not only a huge amount of data, a lot of it is probably unnecessary:
It’s estimated that up to 88% of the data stored in the cloud is ROT (Redundant, Obsolete or Trivial) data, or “dark data”: data collected by companies in the course of their regular business activities, but which is not used for any other purpose. It all amounts to a lot of junk data that has no purpose, that will never be needed or looked at again.
Yup, I definitely store a lot of photos and emails that I will never need to look at again. I should set aside some time for cleanup.
I agree with Michelle. Design could help consumers decrease their storage. I want my software to encourage deletion, not (or not just) addition, bring it on!