"I Had Sort of a Sense that I Was Always Being Watched...Since I Was": Examining Interpersonal Discomfort From Continuous Location-Sharing Applications

Continuous location sharing (CLS) applications are widely used for safety and social convenience. However, these applications have privacy concerns that can be used for control and harm. To understand the nature of concerns that users face, we performed the largest user study to date with 3000 users, 1500 of whom use CLS applications, and 896 who completed surveys. From survey responses, we conducted 23 interviews with participants who had uncomfortable experiences. With these interviews, we perform thematic analysis grounded by sociological frameworks of power dynamics and social exchange theory. We observe that CLS application users face discomfort related to three primary categories that build on each other: (1) overstepped boundaries, (2) continued discomfort, and (3) lifestyle-impacting behaviors. With this foundational understanding, we suggest features that aim to reduce relationship imbalances that CLS applications enable. CCS Concepts • Human-centered computing → User studies; • Security and privacy → Human and societal aspects of security and privacy; Social aspects of security and privacy; Privacy protections;