As smartphones and tablets are now widespread, accessing or even sharing sensitive content in public areas has become commonplace. This applies to both personal contexts (e.g. checking banking information in a coffee shop) and professional contexts (e.g. sharing patient information in a hospital ward). It is important to explore ways to support visual privacy that are appropriate for mobile device use in public settings and in dynamic workflows. In this paper we present the design, prototype implementation, and ongoing evaluation of a range of privacy notifications and privacy control mechanisms for tablets. Preliminary results show that: 1) spatial information such as distance and orientation can be used to mediate privacy management for tablet interfaces. 2) Privacy notifications and control mechanisms should be designed to complement our existing physical awareness and protection mechanisms. 3) Selecting a specific design is highly context-dependent.
In hospitals, offices and other settings, professionals face the challenge of accessing and sharing sensitive content in public areas. As tablets become increasingly adopted in work environments, it is important to explore ways to support privacy that are appropriate for tablet use in dynamic, mobile workflows. In this research we consider how spatial information can be utilized to support both individual and collaborative work in a natural way while respecting data privacy. We present a proof-of-concept implementation of a proximity-aware tablet, and a range of privacy notification and control mechanisms designed for such a tablet. Results from a user study support the idea that interpersonal distance and orientation can be used to mediate privacy management for tablet interfaces. Selecting a specific design for privacy threat notification and response is highly context-dependent—for example, in health care the first priority is to not impede the fluid exchange of information.
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