Design for Privacy in Ubiquitous Computing Environments

Abstract

Current developments in information technology are leading to increasing capture and storage of information about people and their activities. This raises serious issues about the preservation of privacy. In this paper we examine why these issues are particularly important in the introduction of ubiquitous computing technology into the working environment. Certain problems with privacy are closely related to the ways in which the technology attenuates natural mechanisms of feedback and control over information released. We describe a framework for design for privacy in ubiquitous computing environments and conclude with an example of its application.

Privacy Factors in Video-Based Media Spaces

“…Accidental violations are known to happen from time to time. Inadvertent privacy infractions (5.b.i) are believed to occur because media space designs fit poorly with individual human and social factors thereby causing breakdowns in normal social practice (Bellotti, 1998). Specifically, privacy regulation is situated action (4.e.i) (Suchman, 1987).…”

“…This awareness permits fine-grained coordination of frequent, light-weight casual interactions. While video media spaces are a promising way to increase group interaction, they are perceived by users and non-users alike to be privacy invasive and privacy insensitive, e.g., Gaver et al (1992), Bellotti & Sellen (1993), Lee et al (1997). They permit privacy violations that range from subtle to obvious and from inconsequential to intolerable.…”

“…Collectively, this vocabulary creates a de-scriptive 'theory' about factors affection privacy and its perception. This vocabulary is grounded atop a broad base formed out of others' theoretical descriptions of privacy, i.e., Altman (1975), Bellotti (1998), Palen & Dourish (2003), and Schwartz (1968). The vocabulary explanations below distil concepts explained in detail in our own prior work (Boyle, Tables 1 -5 outline the vocabulary of terms that will be discussed throughout the chapter.…”

Using Spatial Co-location for Coordination in Ubiquitous Computing Environments

“…Location based authorization. The assurance of privacy is of major concern in Ubicomp [5,20]. Actual proposals suggest a feedback mechanism [5] so that the user knows when he is watched allowing him to move to a non-watched room, or suggest the possibility to switch off the system [15].…”

To Share or Not to Share: Supporting the User Decision in Mobile Social Software Applications

“…Theories of human social behavior have been utilized in mobile and ubiquitous computing environments to investigate privacy concerns [1,4,9,16] and they typically take into account not only individual needs, but also recurrent patterns of social roles and relationships. An important aspect of the problem concerns the identification of the parameters to consider when designing for privacy in the mobile context.…”