Digital Privacy Challenges with Shared Mobile Phone Use in Bangladesh

Abstract

Prior research on technology use in the Global South suggests that people in marginalized communities frequently share a single device among multiple individuals. However, the data privacy challenges and tensions that arise when people share devices have not been studied in depth. This paper presents a qualitative study with 72 participants that analyzes how families in Bangladesh currently share mobile phones, their usage patterns, and the tensions and challenges that arise as individuals seek to protect the privacy of their personal data. We show how people share devices out of economic need, but also because sharing is a social and cultural practice that is deeply embedded in Bangladeshi society. We also discuss how prevalent power relationships affect sharing practices and reveal gender dynamics that impact the privacy of women's data. Finally, we highlight strategies that participants adopted to protect their private data from the people with whom they share devices. Taken together, our findings have broad implications that advance the CSCW community's understanding of digital privacy outside the Western world.

Privacy threats in intimate relationships

“…1 Some partners may desire not only to monitor an intimate partner, but also to be monitored, for convenience (e.g., "I like my partner to know when I'm on my way home so we can make evening plans") [21], for safety (e.g., to inform trusted contacts of one's location to provide a "virtual escort" while walking alone) [22], or for other reasons. In other contexts, there may be social or cultural assumptions of family access and sharing, often along gendered lines [23,24]. (In fact, some industry groups have gone so far as to say that because devices are often shared within households and families, device identifiers should not be considered "personally identifying" under privacy laws [25].…”

Examining Security and Privacy Research in Developing Regions

“…Information gathering practices of marginalized people in resource-constrained settings are primarily based on interactions with friends and family members [86], which at times expose them to unintended privacy risks. For example, siblings trade favors when they encounter traces of digital activities while helping each other navigate digital spaces [27]. Moreover, misconceptions about a local culture by developers or designers may result in inappropriate threat modeling.…”

“…For example, beneficiary-users socially-negotiated their privacy with intermediaryusers when they anticipated arrival of confidential information [107] by using simple measures such as callbacks instead of leaving private information with intermediary-users. Similarly, people reported different privacy preferences when sharing phones with their parents, children, siblings, and friends [27].…”

“…We selected phone sharing as our first case study since it is a phenomena common in developed [83,96] as well as developing regions [27] with underlying differences in the nature of sharing (e.g., why people share and how often) and the extent of sharing (e.g., with whom and the type of sharing). Because of these differences, phone sharing phenomena provides a good lens to examine how interplay of the factors we identified in the previous section shapes security and privacy behaviors and expectations of the people in developing regions.…”

“…Thus, the predominant type of sharing in developing regions is for mutual use. Sociocultural norms (culture) also influence sharing, more in developing regions compared to developed regions, and often lead to forced sharing (e.g., sharing a phone with a friend due to social pressure) [27,147]. Lack of knowledge (knowledge gap) and self-confidence to operate phones also lead people to request outside help (i.e., intermediation [127]) that could lead to unexpected privacy risks.…”