Understanding and protecting the privacy of main users and bystanders in smart homes

Abstract

Privacy is considered among the fundamental human rights recognized by the United Nations (UN). It has become a main concern for the public as technologies have advanced and become more accessible. Among the new technologies are smart homes which have been adopted by many people in recent years. Along with the great benefits of these smart home devices, new privacy threats have appeared. According to McKinsey 2020 report regarding the smart home market, 70% of potential consumers are hesitant to buy smart home devices due to privacy concerns. These privacy concerns slow down growth and innovations for smart home technologies. This was our motivation to further explore the privacy issues in smart homes and how we can improve privacy protections. It is important to consider that privacy in smart homes affects more than primary users (owners or main users) of the devices. Secondary users (e.g., visiting family members, friends, or domestic workers) can be impacted as well. We investigate the privacy issues in smart homes for two main groups: the privacy of owners in Chapter 2, and the privacy of bystanders in Chapter 3. Bystanders’ privacy protections might conflict with the smart home utility. For example, if a bystander wants to protect their privacy by asking the owner to turn off the smart camera, the main utility of the camera to increase home safety is defeated. Thus, a form of agreement is needed to protect bystanders’ privacy while preserving the smart home utility. As a result, We investigate how owners and bystanders can negotiate over smart home data practices when they coexist in Chapter 4.