Who Should Have Access to my Pointing Data?: Privacy Tradeoffs of Adaptive Assistive Technologies

Abstract

Customizing assistive technologies based on user needs, abilities, and preferences is necessary for accessibility, especially for individuals whose abilities vary due to a diagnosis, medication, or other external factors. Adaptive Assistive Technologies (AATs) that can automatically monitor a user's current abilities and adapt functionality and appearance accordingly offer exciting solutions. However, there is an often-overlooked privacy tradeoff between usability and user privacy when designing such systems. We present a general privacy threat model analysis of AATs and contextualize it with findings from an interview study with older adults who experience pointing problems. We found that participants had positive attitude towards assistive technologies that gather their personal data but also had strong preferences for how their data should be used and who should have access to it. We identify a need to seriously consider privacy threats when designing assistive technologies to avoid exposing users to them.