Investigating Tangible Privacy-Preserving Mechanisms for Future Smart Homes

Most smart home devices have multiple sensors, such as cameras and microphones; however, most cannot be controlled individually. Tangible privacy mechanisms provide control over individual sensors and instill high certainty of privacy. Yet, it remains unclear how they can be used in future smart homes. We conducted three studies to understand how tangible privacy mechanisms scale across multiple devices and respond to user needs. First, we conducted a focus group (N=8) on speculative tangible control artifacts to understand the user perspective. Second, we ran a workshop at a human-computer interaction conference (N=8) on tangible privacy. Third, we conducted a six-week in-the-wild study with a tangible, static privacy dashboard across six households. Our findings help to contrast the need for tangible privacy mechanisms on the sensor level with user needs on a smart home level. Finally, we discuss our design implications for future smart homes through the lens of inclusive privacy.