Abstract
In the United States, “privacy” largely centers on the degree to which an individual feels in control of the accessibility of whatever she or he feels is “private.” In this paper I explore this conceptualization of privacy, drawing on the work of U.S. scholars as well as 74 mostly middle and upper-middle class individuals who were interviewed during a formal study of privacy from June 2001-December 2002. I examine the ways in which participants try to achieve privacy as they pursue the principle of “selective disclosure and concealment.” I suggest that the affordance of such selectivity may be a key element for objects, environments, services, and technological systems designed for the U.S., and that all designers might generally benefit from reflection on the privacy implications of their work products, regardless of location or user population.
Keywords
culture and design, social contexts, qualitative user research, sociology
Citation
Nippert-Eng, C. (2006) Privacy by Design, in Friedman, K., Love, T., Côrte-Real, E. and Rust, C. (eds.), Wonderground - DRS International Conference 2006, 1-4 November, Lisbon, Portugal. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2006/researchpapers/46
Privacy by Design
In the United States, “privacy” largely centers on the degree to which an individual feels in control of the accessibility of whatever she or he feels is “private.” In this paper I explore this conceptualization of privacy, drawing on the work of U.S. scholars as well as 74 mostly middle and upper-middle class individuals who were interviewed during a formal study of privacy from June 2001-December 2002. I examine the ways in which participants try to achieve privacy as they pursue the principle of “selective disclosure and concealment.” I suggest that the affordance of such selectivity may be a key element for objects, environments, services, and technological systems designed for the U.S., and that all designers might generally benefit from reflection on the privacy implications of their work products, regardless of location or user population.