AbstractIntelligent voice assistants may soon become proactive, offering suggestions without being directly invoked. Such behavior increases privacy risks, since proactive operation requires continuous monitoring of conversations. To mitigate this problem, our study proposes and evaluates one potential privacy control, in which the assistant requests permission for the information it wishes to use immediately after hearing […]
Tag: wearable
Balancing Power Dynamics in Smart Homes: Nannies’ Perspectives on How Cameras Reflect and Affect Relationships (SOUPS ’22)
AbstractSmart home cameras raise privacy concerns in part because they frequently collect data not only about the primary users who deployed them but also other parties—who may be targets of intentional surveillance or incidental bystanders. Domestic employees working in smart homes must navigate a complex situation that blends privacy and social norms for homes, workplaces, […]
Evaluating and Redefining Smartphone Permissions with Contextualized Justifications for Mobile Augmented Reality Apps (SOUPS ’21)
AbstractAugmented reality (AR), and specifically mobile augmented reality (MAR), gained much public attention after the success of Pokémon Go in 2016, and since then has found application in online games, social media, entertainment, real estate, interior design, and other services. MAR apps are highly dependent on real time context-specific information provided by the different sensors […]
Privacy Controls for Always-Listening Devices (NSPW ’19)
AbstractIntelligent voice assistants (IVAs) and other voice-enabled devices already form an integral component of the Internet of Things and will continue to grow in popularity. As their capabilities evolve, they will move beyond relying on the wake-words today’s IVAs use, engaging instead in continuous listening. Though potentially useful, the continuous recording and analysis of speech […]
Investigating Users’ Preferences and Expectations for Always-Listening Voice Assistants (IMWUT ’19)
AbstractMany consumers now rely on different forms of voice assistants, both stand-alone devices and those built into smartphones. Currently, these systems react to specific wake-words, such as “Alexa,” “Siri,” or “Ok Google.” However, with advancements in natural language processing, the next generation of voice assistants could instead always listen to the acoustic environment and proactively […]
Privacy and Security Threat Models and Mitigation Strategies of Older Adults (SOUPS ’19)
AbstractOlder adults (65+) are becoming primary users of emerging smart systems, especially in health care. However, these technologies are often not designed for older users and can pose serious privacy and security concerns due to their novelty, complexity, and propensity to collect and communicate vast amounts of sensitive information. Efforts to address such concerns must […]
Privacy Attitudes of Smart Speaker Users (PETS ’19)
AbstractAs devices with always-on microphones located in people’s homes, smart speakers have significant privacy implications. We surveyed smart speaker owners about their beliefs, attitudes, and concerns about the recordings that are made and shared by their devices. To ground participants’ responses in concrete interactions, rather than collecting their opinions abstractly, we framed our survey around […]
Information Design in An Aged Care Context (PervasiveHealth ’19)
AbstractThe adoption of technological solutions for aged care is rapidly increasing in developed countries. New technologies facilitate the sharing of health information among the “care triad”: the elderly care recipient, their family, and care staff. In order to develop user-centered technologies for this population, we believe that it is necessary to first examine their views […]
“What Can’t Data Be Used For?” Privacy Expectations about Smart TVs in the U.S. (EuroUSEC ’18)
Abstract Smart TVs have rapidly become the most common smart appliance in typical households. In the U.S., most television sets on the market have advanced sensors not traditionally found on conventional TVs, such as a microphone for voice commands or a camera for photo or video input. These new sensors enable features that are convenient, […]
Information Disclosure Concerns in The Age of Wearable Computing (USEC ’16)
Abstract Wearable devices, or “wearables,” bring great benefits but also potential information disclosure risks that could expose users’ activities without their awareness or consent. We surveyed 1,782 Internet users about various data associated with the capabilities of popular wearable devices on the market to identify the data disclosure scenarios that users find most concerning. Our […]