Transferability of Privacy-related Behaviours to Shared Smart Home Assistant Devices

Abstract

Smart assistant devices (such as Amazon Echo or Google Home) have notable differences to more conventional consumer computing devices. They can be used through voice control as well as physical interaction, and are often positioned as a shared device within a home environment. We conduct an exploratory online survey with 97 UK-based users of smart assistant devices, to examine the differences users perceive between smart assistants and more familiar devices (such as smartphones and computers), in terms of shared use dynamics, privacy-related behaviours, and privacy concerns. The survey explores typical usage, setup practices, perceived ease of use and control, privacy concerns for multiple users, shared usage of existing devices, and smart assistant privacy control usage. Approximately half of participants were unsure of where to access privacy settings on their smart home assistants; basic device controls and informal privacy controls saw general use. Those who had used privacy controls with previous devices used at least one smart assistant privacy control. Results have implications for supporting transferable privacy behaviours from computing devices to smart home devices, and improving privacy-related design for smart assistants.