Communications of the ACM
Kids, Parents Alike Worried About Privacy With Internet-Connected Toys
A University of Washington study found parents and children alike are concerned about the potential for Wi-Fi-enabled Internet-connected toys to infringe on children's privacy.
Credit: Mark Lennihan/AP
A new study by University of Washington (UW) researchers points to anxieties about the potential for Wi-Fi-enabled Internet-connected toys to infringe on children's privacy.
Their work was presented this week at the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2017) in Denver, CO.
Most of the study's child participants were unaware the toys were recording their conversations.
"The toys are a social agent where you might feel compelled to disclose things that you wouldn't otherwise to a computer or cellphone," says UW professor Maya Cakmak.
The study also found most parents were worried about their child's privacy when engaging with such devices, and they expressed a universal desire for parental controls.
Among the researchers' recommendations for toy designers are incorporating a more human-like way for the toys to alert children when they are recording, and either deleting recordings after a week or letting parents delete them permanently.
From UW Today
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