PrivaCI in VR: Exploring Perceptions and Acceptability of Data Sharing in Virtual Reality Through Contextual Integrity

Virtual Reality (VR) is rapidly integrating into our everyday life, offering immersive experiences through interactive environments. However, its extensive data collection capabilities, including personal and behavioral information, pose significant privacy risks, which remain poorly understood. Despite existing research on VR privacy concerns, few studies explore the critical factors influencing data-sharing acceptability across user and non-user groups. To address this, we conducted an online survey with 1,198 participants from Germany, employing the Contextual Integrity (CI) framework to assess data-sharing acceptability, awareness, and privacy behaviors. Our findings indicate that consent and recipient are key factors influencing acceptability across all demographic groups examined, including age, gender, education, IT background, and VR usage. Many individuals remain unaware of the risks posed by VR's broad data collection and are dissatisfied with current privacy controls. This study contributes to understanding VR-specific privacy perceptions and highlights the urgent need for policymakers, developers, and manufacturers to establish clear standards and empower users with more transparent and granular privacy controls. Proactively addressing these challenges is crucial to maintaining user trust and ensuring VR's responsible integration into society.