Perceptions and Attitudes towards Tracking and Recording Technologies in Everyday Life
March 19th, 2010 | Published in Projects

Current Researchers:
David Nguyen and Gillian Hayes
Past Collaborators:
Aurora Bedford, Alex Bretana, Yann Jouitteau, Gabriela Marcu, Brian Sone,
Marc Langheinrich (USI), James Scott (Microsoft Research), and Khai Truong (University of Toronto)
In this project, we apply a commonly used model for understanding information privacy – the Concern for Information Privacy (CFIP) model – and present the ways that this model and its associated questionnaire can shed light on information privacy concerns towards pervasive and ubiquitous tracking and recording technologies. Specifically, the CFIP model encourages analysis of data across four facets of experience: the collection of personal data, the risk of improper access, the potential for unauthorized secondary use, and the challenge of preventing or correcting errors in the data. Through multiple studies, we apply this model to tracking and recording technology used and appropriated in everyday life – both novel technologies (e.g., SenseCam, RFID) and more common technologies (e.g., CCTV, credit cards, rewards cards). We investigate people’s concerns for information privacy in the context of everyday life about recording technologies based in both technical and social influences. Furthermore, we identify areas not well handled by this model of information privacy and suggest avenues for future work, including research on how and when to notify people about recording technologies, awareness of data provenance and leakage, and understanding of and access to the data assemblage being created about individuals.
This work is supported in part by an NSF CAREER grant #0846063 and through a collaboration with Microsoft Research Cambridge.
Publications:
Nguyen, D. H., & Hayes, G. R. (2010). Information Privacy in Institutional and End-user Tracking and Recording Technologies. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 14(1), 53-72. [pdf]
Nguyen, D. H., Marcu, G., Hayes, G. R., Truong, K. N., Scott, J., Langheinrich, M., and Roduner, C. (2009). Encountering SenseCam: Personal Recording Technologies in Everyday Life. Paper presented at the 11th International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp 2009). [pdf]
Nguyen, D. H., Kobsa, A., & Hayes, G. R. (2008). An Empirical Investigation of Concerns of Everyday Tracking and Recording Technologies. Paper presented at the 10th International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing. [pdf]