Challenges in Running Wearable Camera-Related User Studies

Abstract: With the rising popularity of wearable cameras such as Google Glass, Narrative Clip, and the Autographer, we expect that researchers will be increasingly interested in camera-related research and user studies. However, these studies raise important privacy-related challenges to researchers. In this paper, we reflect on our experience running a user study with lifelogging cameras, addressing the problems of an unclear legal framework, different boundaries for expectations of privacy, and limitations on ecological validity due to compromises in study design meant to protect the privacy of participants and bystanders. We discuss the steps that we took to mitigate these concerns and the reasons behind them as an illustrative example.