Two Faces of Privacy: Legal and Human-Centered Perspectives of Lifelogging Applications in Home Environments

In view of the consequences resulting from the demographic change, using assisting lifelogging technologies in domestic environments represents one potential approach to support elderly and people in need of care to stay longer within their own home. Yet, the handling of personal data poses a considerable challenge to the perceptions of privacy and data security, and therefore for an accepted use in this regard. The present study focuses on aspects of data management in the context of two different lifelogging applications, considering a legal and a human-centered perspective. In a two-step empirical process, consisting of qualitative interviews and an online survey, these aspects were explored and evaluated by a representative German sample of adult participants (N = 209). Findings show positive attitudes towards using lifelogging, but there are also high requirements on privacy and data security as well as anonymization of the data. In addition, the study allows deep insights into preferred duration and location of the data storage, and permissions to access the personal information from third parties. Knowledge of preferences and requirements in the area of data management from the legal and human-centered perspectives is crucial for lifelogging and must be considered in applications that support people in their daily living at home. Outcomes of the present study considerably contribute to the understanding of an optimal infrastructure of the accepted and willingly utilized lifelogging applications.