ESPRESSO: a framework to empower search on the decentralized web
ESPRESSO: a framework to empower search on the decentralized web
The increasing centralization of the Web raises serious concerns regarding privacy, security, and user autonomy. In response, there has been a renewed interest in the development of secure personal information management systems and a movement towards decentralization. Decentralized personal online data stores (pods) represent a revolutionary example within this movement, built on the W3C’s existing guidelines – an approach exemplified by initiatives such as Solid (https://solidproject.org). In the Solid paradigm, individuals store their personal data in pods and have absolute discretion when choosing to grant access to different users and applications. A barrier to the adoption of the pod approach is the predominant reliance on centralized indexes for search functionality in current Web and Web-based systems. This paper introduces the ESPRESSO framework, which is designed to facilitate this new paradigm of large-scale searches within personal data stores while respecting the individual pod owners’ data access governance. The current ESPRESSO prototype integrates access control within pod indexes to enhance distributed keyword-based search. ESPRESSO’s unique contribution not only enhances search capabilities on the decentralized Web but also paves the way for future explorations in decentralized search technologies.
Access control, Personal online data stores, SPARQL, Decentralized web, Linked data, RDF, Solid framework, Distributed querying, Web search
431-448
Ragab, Mohamed
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Savateev, Yury
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Oliver, Helen
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Tiropanis, Thanassis
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Poulovassilis, Alexandra
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Chapman, Adriane
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Russos, George
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December 2024
Ragab, Mohamed
70b66274-31dc-474c-82a1-f838ad062a14
Savateev, Yury
92685970-9170-450a-ae7d-a580fdd854a4
Oliver, Helen
a8c3c44b-4cd8-40e9-9e65-280f8669e56f
Tiropanis, Thanassis
d06654bd-5513-407b-9acd-6f9b9c5009d8
Poulovassilis, Alexandra
3b1668fd-3d66-4ea4-aacd-ea75a78fc064
Chapman, Adriane
721b7321-8904-4be2-9b01-876c430743f1
Russos, George
6bb21245-3b51-488f-ae36-8787ed80ff55
Ragab, Mohamed, Savateev, Yury, Oliver, Helen, Tiropanis, Thanassis, Poulovassilis, Alexandra, Chapman, Adriane and Russos, George
(2024)
ESPRESSO: a framework to empower search on the decentralized web.
Data Science and Engineering, 9 (4), , [112858].
(doi:10.1007/s41019-024-00263-w).
Abstract
The increasing centralization of the Web raises serious concerns regarding privacy, security, and user autonomy. In response, there has been a renewed interest in the development of secure personal information management systems and a movement towards decentralization. Decentralized personal online data stores (pods) represent a revolutionary example within this movement, built on the W3C’s existing guidelines – an approach exemplified by initiatives such as Solid (https://solidproject.org). In the Solid paradigm, individuals store their personal data in pods and have absolute discretion when choosing to grant access to different users and applications. A barrier to the adoption of the pod approach is the predominant reliance on centralized indexes for search functionality in current Web and Web-based systems. This paper introduces the ESPRESSO framework, which is designed to facilitate this new paradigm of large-scale searches within personal data stores while respecting the individual pod owners’ data access governance. The current ESPRESSO prototype integrates access control within pod indexes to enhance distributed keyword-based search. ESPRESSO’s unique contribution not only enhances search capabilities on the decentralized Web but also paves the way for future explorations in decentralized search technologies.
Text
s41019-024-00263-w
- Version of Record
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 9 September 2024
e-pub ahead of print date: 26 November 2024
Published date: December 2024
Keywords:
Access control, Personal online data stores, SPARQL, Decentralized web, Linked data, RDF, Solid framework, Distributed querying, Web search
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 496877
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/496877
ISSN: 2364-1185
PURE UUID: 41ae8b3c-dfb0-4a2e-becc-2700841aa33b
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Date deposited: 08 Jan 2025 11:27
Last modified: 30 Aug 2025 01:55
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Contributors
Author:
Mohamed Ragab
Author:
Yury Savateev
Author:
Helen Oliver
Author:
Thanassis Tiropanis
Author:
Alexandra Poulovassilis
Author:
George Russos
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