2024
Jiang, Weiwei; Windl, Maximiliane; Tag, Benjamin; Sarsenbayeva, Zhanna; Mayer, Sven
An Immersive and Interactive VR Dataset to Elicit Emotions Journal Article
In: IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, vol. 30, no. 11, pp. 7343-7353, 2024.
BibTeX | Links:
@article{jian2024immersive,
title = {An Immersive and Interactive VR Dataset to Elicit Emotions},
author = {Weiwei Jiang and Maximiliane Windl and Benjamin Tag and Zhanna Sarsenbayeva and Sven Mayer},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/jiang2024immersive.pdf},
doi = {10.1109/TVCG.2024.3456202},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-01-01},
urldate = {2024-01-01},
journal = {IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics},
volume = {30},
number = {11},
pages = {7343-7353},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Weingärtner, Henrike; Windl, Maximiliane; Chuang, Lewis L.; Draxler, Fiona
Useful but Distracting: Viewer Experience with Keyword Highlights and Time-Synchronization in Captions for Language Learning Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia, pp. 235–248, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 2024, ISBN: 9798400712838.
@inproceedings{weingartner2024useful,
title = {Useful but Distracting: Viewer Experience with Keyword Highlights and Time-Synchronization in Captions for Language Learning},
author = {Henrike Weingärtner and Maximiliane Windl and Lewis L. Chuang and Fiona Draxler},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/weingaertner2024captions.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3701571.3701574},
isbn = {9798400712838},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-01-01},
urldate = {2024-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia},
pages = {235–248},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {New York, NY, USA},
series = {MUM '24},
abstract = {Captions are a valuable scaffold for language learners, aiding comprehension and vocabulary acquisition. Past work has proposed enhancements such as keyword highlights for increased learning gains. However, little is known about learners’ experience with enhanced captions, although this is critical for adoption in everyday life. We conducted a survey and focus group to elicit learner preferences and requirements and implemented a processing pipeline for enhanced captions with keyword highlights, time-synchronized keyword highlights, and keyword captions. A subsequent online study (n = 66) showed that time-synchronized keyword highlights were the preferred design for learning but were perceived as too distracting to replace standard captions in everyday viewing scenarios. We conclude that keyword highlights and time-synchronization are suitable for integrating learning into an entertaining everyday-life activity, but the design should be optimized to provide a more seamless experience.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Captions are a valuable scaffold for language learners, aiding comprehension and vocabulary acquisition. Past work has proposed enhancements such as keyword highlights for increased learning gains. However, little is known about learners’ experience with enhanced captions, although this is critical for adoption in everyday life. We conducted a survey and focus group to elicit learner preferences and requirements and implemented a processing pipeline for enhanced captions with keyword highlights, time-synchronized keyword highlights, and keyword captions. A subsequent online study (n = 66) showed that time-synchronized keyword highlights were the preferred design for learning but were perceived as too distracting to replace standard captions in everyday viewing scenarios. We conclude that keyword highlights and time-synchronization are suitable for integrating learning into an entertaining everyday-life activity, but the design should be optimized to provide a more seamless experience.
Windl, Maximiliane; Leusmann, Jan; Schmidt, Albrecht; Feger, Sebastian S.; Mayer, Sven
Privacy Communication Patterns for Domestic Robots Best Paper Proceedings Article
In: Twentieth Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS 2024), pp. 121–138, USENIX Association, Philadelphia, PA, 2024, ISBN: 978-1-939133-42-7.
BibTeX | Links:
@inproceedings{windl2024communication,
title = {Privacy Communication Patterns for Domestic Robots},
author = {Maximiliane Windl and Jan Leusmann and Albrecht Schmidt and Sebastian S. Feger and Sven Mayer},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/windl2024communication.pdf},
isbn = {978-1-939133-42-7},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-08-01},
urldate = {2024-08-01},
booktitle = {Twentieth Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS 2024)},
pages = {121–138},
publisher = {USENIX Association},
address = {Philadelphia, PA},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Windl, Maximiliane; Feger, Sebastian S.
Designing Interactive Privacy Labels for Advanced Smart Home Device Configuration Options Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, pp. 3372–3388, Association for Computing Machinery, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2024, ISBN: 9798400705830.
@inproceedings{windl2024designing,
title = {Designing Interactive Privacy Labels for Advanced Smart Home Device Configuration Options},
author = {Maximiliane Windl and Sebastian S. Feger},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/windl2024designing.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3643834.3661527},
isbn = {9798400705830},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-01-01},
urldate = {2024-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference},
pages = {3372–3388},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {Copenhagen, Denmark},
series = {DIS '24},
abstract = {Labels inform smart home users about the privacy of devices before purchase and during use. Yet, current privacy labels fail to fully reflect the impact of advanced device configuration options like sensor state control. Based on the successful implementation of related privacy and security labels, we designed extended static and interactive labels that reflect sensor states and device connectivity. We first did expert interviews (N = 10) that informed the final label design. Second, we ran an online survey (N = 160) to assess the interpretation and usability of the novel interactive privacy label. Lastly, we conducted a second survey (N = 120) to investigate how well our interactive labels educate users about sensor configuration. We found that most participants successfully used the interactive label and retrieved sensor information more efficiently and correctly. We discuss our findings in the context of a potential shift in label use toward control and use-case-based interaction.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Labels inform smart home users about the privacy of devices before purchase and during use. Yet, current privacy labels fail to fully reflect the impact of advanced device configuration options like sensor state control. Based on the successful implementation of related privacy and security labels, we designed extended static and interactive labels that reflect sensor states and device connectivity. We first did expert interviews (N = 10) that informed the final label design. Second, we ran an online survey (N = 160) to assess the interpretation and usability of the novel interactive privacy label. Lastly, we conducted a second survey (N = 120) to investigate how well our interactive labels educate users about sensor configuration. We found that most participants successfully used the interactive label and retrieved sensor information more efficiently and correctly. We discuss our findings in the context of a potential shift in label use toward control and use-case-based interaction.
Windl, Maximiliane; Schlegel, Magdalena; Mayer, Sven
Exploring Users' Mental Models and Privacy Concerns During Interconnected Interactions Journal Article
In: Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact., vol. 8, no. MHCI, 2024.
@article{windl2024exploring,
title = {Exploring Users' Mental Models and Privacy Concerns During Interconnected Interactions},
author = {Maximiliane Windl and Magdalena Schlegel and Sven Mayer},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/windl2024exploring.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3676504},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-09-01},
urldate = {2024-09-01},
journal = {Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact.},
volume = {8},
number = {MHCI},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {New York, NY, USA},
abstract = {Users frequently use their smartphones in combination with other smart devices, for example, when streaming music to smart speakers or controlling smart appliances. During these interconnected interactions, user data gets handled and processed by several entities that employ different data protection practices or are subject to different regulations. Users need to understand these processes to inform themselves in the right places and make informed privacy decisions. We conducted an online survey (N=120) to investigate whether users have accurate mental models about interconnected interactions. We found that users consider scenarios more privacy-concerning when multiple devices are involved. Yet, we also found that most users do not fully comprehend the privacy-relevant processes in interconnected interactions. Our results show that current privacy information methods are insufficient and that users must be better educated to make informed privacy decisions. Finally, we advocate for restricting data processing to the app layer and better encryption to reduce users' data protection responsibilities.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Users frequently use their smartphones in combination with other smart devices, for example, when streaming music to smart speakers or controlling smart appliances. During these interconnected interactions, user data gets handled and processed by several entities that employ different data protection practices or are subject to different regulations. Users need to understand these processes to inform themselves in the right places and make informed privacy decisions. We conducted an online survey (N=120) to investigate whether users have accurate mental models about interconnected interactions. We found that users consider scenarios more privacy-concerning when multiple devices are involved. Yet, we also found that most users do not fully comprehend the privacy-relevant processes in interconnected interactions. Our results show that current privacy information methods are insufficient and that users must be better educated to make informed privacy decisions. Finally, we advocate for restricting data processing to the app layer and better encryption to reduce users' data protection responsibilities.
2023
Feger, Sebastian S.; Windl, Maximiliane; Grootjen, Jesse; Schmidt, Albrecht
ConnectivityControl: Providing Smart Home Users with Real Privacy Configuration Options Proceedings Article
In: Spano, Lucio Davide; Schmidt, Albrecht; Santoro, Carmen; Stumpf, Simone (Ed.): End-User Development, pp. 180–188, Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham, 2023, ISBN: 978-3-031-34433-6.
@inproceedings{feger2023connectivitycontrol,
title = {ConnectivityControl: Providing Smart Home Users with Real Privacy Configuration Options},
author = {Sebastian S. Feger and Maximiliane Windl and Jesse Grootjen and Albrecht Schmidt},
editor = {Lucio Davide Spano and Albrecht Schmidt and Carmen Santoro and Simone Stumpf},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/feger2023connectivitycontrol.pdf},
isbn = {978-3-031-34433-6},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
urldate = {2023-01-01},
booktitle = {End-User Development},
pages = {180–188},
publisher = {Springer Nature Switzerland},
address = {Cham},
abstract = {Smart home devices become increasingly popular as they allow to automate tedious tasks and often provide a wide variety of entertainment features. Yet, this increase in comfort comes at the cost of exposure to privacy risks as connected devices in smart homes capture most sensitive user data, including video, audio, and movement data of the inhabitants and guests. Smart home owners and bystanders typically have very limited control over these recordings. While few devices do provide physical artifacts to block individual sensors, deactivating recording and transmission capabilities typically requires powering devices off or disconnecting them from the network, typically rendering these smart home appliances useless. In response, we created ConnectivityControl, a framework that allows users to switch between four device connectivity levels: Offline, Access Point mode, Local Network mode, and Online. ConnectivityControl features a privacy label that depicts how those modes impact device features and privacy exposure. The label can be used to inform purchase decisions and to monitor devices across their lifetime. In this paper, we detail the system architecture and the interaction design and showcase ConnectivityControl's implementation in the context of two common smart home systems: a smart camera and an environmental sensing unit. Finally, we discuss how ConnectivityControl and its labels can transform the way smart home users configure their systems to match individual privacy needs.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Smart home devices become increasingly popular as they allow to automate tedious tasks and often provide a wide variety of entertainment features. Yet, this increase in comfort comes at the cost of exposure to privacy risks as connected devices in smart homes capture most sensitive user data, including video, audio, and movement data of the inhabitants and guests. Smart home owners and bystanders typically have very limited control over these recordings. While few devices do provide physical artifacts to block individual sensors, deactivating recording and transmission capabilities typically requires powering devices off or disconnecting them from the network, typically rendering these smart home appliances useless. In response, we created ConnectivityControl, a framework that allows users to switch between four device connectivity levels: Offline, Access Point mode, Local Network mode, and Online. ConnectivityControl features a privacy label that depicts how those modes impact device features and privacy exposure. The label can be used to inform purchase decisions and to monitor devices across their lifetime. In this paper, we detail the system architecture and the interaction design and showcase ConnectivityControl's implementation in the context of two common smart home systems: a smart camera and an environmental sensing unit. Finally, we discuss how ConnectivityControl and its labels can transform the way smart home users configure their systems to match individual privacy needs.
Ullerich, Jamie; Windl, Maximiliane; Bulling, Andreas; Mayer, Sven
ThumbPitch: Enriching Thumb Interaction on Mobile Touchscreens using Deep Learning Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 34th Australian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, pp. 58–66, Association for Computing Machinery, Canberra, ACT, Australia, 2023, ISBN: 9798400700248.
@inproceedings{ullerich2023thumbpitch,
title = {ThumbPitch: Enriching Thumb Interaction on Mobile Touchscreens using Deep Learning},
author = {Jamie Ullerich and Maximiliane Windl and Andreas Bulling and Sven Mayer},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ullerich2022thumbpitch.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3572921.3572925},
isbn = {9798400700248},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
urldate = {2023-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 34th Australian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction},
pages = {58–66},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {Canberra, ACT, Australia},
series = {OzCHI '22},
abstract = {Today touchscreens are one of the most common input devices for everyday ubiquitous interaction. Yet, capacitive touchscreens are limited in expressiveness; thus, a large body of work has focused on extending the input capabilities of touchscreens. One promising approach is to use index finger orientation; however, this requires a two-handed interaction and poses ergonomic constraints. We propose using the thumb’s pitch as an additional input dimension to counteract these limitations, enabling one-handed interaction scenarios. Our deep convolutional neural network detecting the thumb’s pitch is trained on more than 230,000 ground truth images recorded using a motion tracking system. We highlight the potential of ThumbPitch by proposing several use cases that exploit the higher expressiveness, especially for one-handed scenarios. We tested three use cases in a validation study and validated our model. Our model achieved a mean error of only 11.9°.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Today touchscreens are one of the most common input devices for everyday ubiquitous interaction. Yet, capacitive touchscreens are limited in expressiveness; thus, a large body of work has focused on extending the input capabilities of touchscreens. One promising approach is to use index finger orientation; however, this requires a two-handed interaction and poses ergonomic constraints. We propose using the thumb’s pitch as an additional input dimension to counteract these limitations, enabling one-handed interaction scenarios. Our deep convolutional neural network detecting the thumb’s pitch is trained on more than 230,000 ground truth images recorded using a motion tracking system. We highlight the potential of ThumbPitch by proposing several use cases that exploit the higher expressiveness, especially for one-handed scenarios. We tested three use cases in a validation study and validated our model. Our model achieved a mean error of only 11.9°.
Windl, Maximiliane; Scheidle, Anna; George, Ceenu; Mayer, Sven
Investigating Security Indicators for Hyperlinking Within the Metaverse Proceedings Article
In: Nineteenth Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS 2023), pp. 605–620, USENIX Association, Anaheim, CA, 2023, ISBN: 978-1-939133-36-6.
BibTeX | Links:
@inproceedings{windl2023investigating,
title = {Investigating Security Indicators for Hyperlinking Within the Metaverse},
author = {Maximiliane Windl and Anna Scheidle and Ceenu George and Sven Mayer},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/windl2023investigating.pdf},
isbn = {978-1-939133-36-6},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-08-01},
urldate = {2023-08-01},
booktitle = {Nineteenth Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS 2023)},
pages = {605–620},
publisher = {USENIX Association},
address = {Anaheim, CA},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Windl, Maximiliane; Schmidt, Albrecht; Feger, Sebastian S.
Investigating Tangible Privacy-Preserving Mechanisms for Future Smart Homes Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Association for Computing Machinery, Hamburg, Germany, 2023, ISBN: 9781450394215.
@inproceedings{windl2023investigatingb,
title = {Investigating Tangible Privacy-Preserving Mechanisms for Future Smart Homes},
author = {Maximiliane Windl and Albrecht Schmidt and Sebastian S. Feger},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/windl2023investigatingb.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3544548.3581167},
isbn = {9781450394215},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
urldate = {2023-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {Hamburg, Germany},
series = {CHI '23},
abstract = {Most smart home devices have multiple sensors, such as cameras and microphones; however, most cannot be controlled individually. Tangible privacy mechanisms provide control over individual sensors and instill high certainty of privacy. Yet, it remains unclear how they can be used in future smart homes. We conducted three studies to understand how tangible privacy mechanisms scale across multiple devices and respond to user needs. First, we conducted a focus group (N=8) on speculative tangible control artifacts to understand the user perspective. Second, we ran a workshop at a human-computer interaction conference (N=8) on tangible privacy. Third, we conducted a six-week in-the-wild study with a tangible, static privacy dashboard across six households. Our findings help to contrast the need for tangible privacy mechanisms on the sensor level with user needs on a smart home level. Finally, we discuss our design implications for future smart homes through the lens of inclusive privacy.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Most smart home devices have multiple sensors, such as cameras and microphones; however, most cannot be controlled individually. Tangible privacy mechanisms provide control over individual sensors and instill high certainty of privacy. Yet, it remains unclear how they can be used in future smart homes. We conducted three studies to understand how tangible privacy mechanisms scale across multiple devices and respond to user needs. First, we conducted a focus group (N=8) on speculative tangible control artifacts to understand the user perspective. Second, we ran a workshop at a human-computer interaction conference (N=8) on tangible privacy. Third, we conducted a six-week in-the-wild study with a tangible, static privacy dashboard across six households. Our findings help to contrast the need for tangible privacy mechanisms on the sensor level with user needs on a smart home level. Finally, we discuss our design implications for future smart homes through the lens of inclusive privacy.
Windl, Maximiliane; Winterhalter, Verena; Schmidt, Albrecht; Mayer, Sven
Understanding and Mitigating Technology-Facilitated Privacy Violations in the Physical World Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Association for Computing Machinery, Hamburg, Germany, 2023, ISBN: 9781450394215.
@inproceedings{windl2023understanding,
title = {Understanding and Mitigating Technology-Facilitated Privacy Violations in the Physical World},
author = {Maximiliane Windl and Verena Winterhalter and Albrecht Schmidt and Sven Mayer},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/windl2023understanding.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3544548.3580909},
isbn = {9781450394215},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
urldate = {2023-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {Hamburg, Germany},
series = {CHI '23},
abstract = {We are constantly surrounded by technology that collects and processes sensitive data, paving the way for privacy violations. Yet, current research investigating technology-facilitated privacy violations in the physical world is scattered and focused on specific scenarios or investigates such violations purely from an expert’s perspective. Informed through a large-scale online survey, we first construct a scenario taxonomy based on user-experienced privacy violations in the physical world through technology. We then validate our taxonomy and establish mitigation strategies using interviews and co-design sessions with privacy and security experts. In summary, this work contributes (1) a refined scenario taxonomy for technology-facilitated privacy violations in the physical world, (2) an understanding of how privacy violations manifest in the physical world, (3) a decision tree on how to inform users, and (4) a design space to create notices whenever adequate. With this, we contribute a conceptual framework to enable a privacy-preserving technology-connected world.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
We are constantly surrounded by technology that collects and processes sensitive data, paving the way for privacy violations. Yet, current research investigating technology-facilitated privacy violations in the physical world is scattered and focused on specific scenarios or investigates such violations purely from an expert’s perspective. Informed through a large-scale online survey, we first construct a scenario taxonomy based on user-experienced privacy violations in the physical world through technology. We then validate our taxonomy and establish mitigation strategies using interviews and co-design sessions with privacy and security experts. In summary, this work contributes (1) a refined scenario taxonomy for technology-facilitated privacy violations in the physical world, (2) an understanding of how privacy violations manifest in the physical world, (3) a decision tree on how to inform users, and (4) a design space to create notices whenever adequate. With this, we contribute a conceptual framework to enable a privacy-preserving technology-connected world.
2022
Bemmann, Florian; Windl, Maximiliane; Erbe, Jonas; Mayer, Sven; Hussmann, Heinrich
The Influence of Transparency and Control on the Willingness of Data Sharing in Adaptive Mobile Apps Journal Article
In: Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact., vol. 6, no. MHCI, 2022.
@article{bemmann2022influence,
title = {The Influence of Transparency and Control on the Willingness of Data Sharing in Adaptive Mobile Apps},
author = {Florian Bemmann and Maximiliane Windl and Jonas Erbe and Sven Mayer and Heinrich Hussmann},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/bemmann2022influence.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3546724},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-09-01},
urldate = {2022-09-01},
journal = {Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact.},
volume = {6},
number = {MHCI},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {New York, NY, USA},
abstract = {Today, adaptive mobile applications use mobile sensing and user tracking, allowing for adaptation to the users' context and needs. This raises several privacy concerns. Privacy dashboards provide transparency and sharing control; however, their impact on the users' behavior is unclear. To shed light on the effects of (a) transparency and (b) control features, we developed a mobile sensing privacy dashboard and evaluated it in the wild (N=227). We found that the pure presentation of raw logging data is rather deterring, and users tend to use the app less, but offering the user control over the data collection can compensate for that. Users used the control features rarely and, as such, did not affect the data collocation. Our work informs the design of future privacy-enhancing interfaces in applications relying on passively collected mobile sensing data. Moreover, our results encourage the adoption of privacy dashboards in the applications and relieve developers from concerns about the negative influences of transparency information on the quality of collected data.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Today, adaptive mobile applications use mobile sensing and user tracking, allowing for adaptation to the users' context and needs. This raises several privacy concerns. Privacy dashboards provide transparency and sharing control; however, their impact on the users' behavior is unclear. To shed light on the effects of (a) transparency and (b) control features, we developed a mobile sensing privacy dashboard and evaluated it in the wild (N=227). We found that the pure presentation of raw logging data is rather deterring, and users tend to use the app less, but offering the user control over the data collection can compensate for that. Users used the control features rarely and, as such, did not affect the data collocation. Our work informs the design of future privacy-enhancing interfaces in applications relying on passively collected mobile sensing data. Moreover, our results encourage the adoption of privacy dashboards in the applications and relieve developers from concerns about the negative influences of transparency information on the quality of collected data.
Windl, Maximiliane; Henze, Niels; Schmidt, Albrecht; Feger, Sebastian S.
Automating Contextual Privacy Policies: Design and Evaluation of a Production Tool for Digital Consumer Privacy Awareness Honorable Mention Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Association for Computing Machinery, New Orleans, LA, USA, 2022, ISBN: 9781450391573.
@inproceedings{windl2022automating,
title = {Automating Contextual Privacy Policies: Design and Evaluation of a Production Tool for Digital Consumer Privacy Awareness},
author = {Maximiliane Windl and Niels Henze and Albrecht Schmidt and Sebastian S. Feger},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/windl2022automating.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3491102.3517688},
isbn = {9781450391573},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
urldate = {2022-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {New Orleans, LA, USA},
series = {CHI '22},
abstract = {Users avoid engaging with privacy policies because they are lengthy and complex, making it challenging to retrieve relevant information. In response, research proposed contextual privacy policies (CPPs) that embed relevant privacy information directly into their affiliated contexts. To date, CPPs are limited to concept showcases. This work evolves CPPs into a production tool that automatically extracts and displays concise policy information. We first evaluated the technical functionality on the US’s 500 most visited websites with 59 participants. Based on our results, we further revised the tool to deploy it in the wild with 11 participants over ten days. We found that our tool is effective at embedding CPP information on websites. Moreover, we found that the tool’s usage led to more reflective privacy behavior, making CPPs powerful in helping users understand the consequences of their online activities. We contribute design implications around CPP presentation to inform future systems design.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Users avoid engaging with privacy policies because they are lengthy and complex, making it challenging to retrieve relevant information. In response, research proposed contextual privacy policies (CPPs) that embed relevant privacy information directly into their affiliated contexts. To date, CPPs are limited to concept showcases. This work evolves CPPs into a production tool that automatically extracts and displays concise policy information. We first evaluated the technical functionality on the US’s 500 most visited websites with 59 participants. Based on our results, we further revised the tool to deploy it in the wild with 11 participants over ten days. We found that our tool is effective at embedding CPP information on websites. Moreover, we found that the tool’s usage led to more reflective privacy behavior, making CPPs powerful in helping users understand the consequences of their online activities. We contribute design implications around CPP presentation to inform future systems design.
Windl, Maximiliane; Feger, Sebastian S.; Zijlstra, Lara; Schmidt, Albrecht; Wozniak, Pawel W.
‘It Is Not Always Discovery Time’: Four Pragmatic Approaches in Designing AI Systems Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Association for Computing Machinery, New Orleans, LA, USA, 2022, ISBN: 9781450391573.
@inproceedings{windl2022discoverytime,
title = {‘It Is Not Always Discovery Time’: Four Pragmatic Approaches in Designing AI Systems},
author = {Maximiliane Windl and Sebastian S. Feger and Lara Zijlstra and Albrecht Schmidt and Pawel W. Wozniak},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/windl2022discoverytime.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3491102.3501943},
isbn = {9781450391573},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
urldate = {2022-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {New Orleans, LA, USA},
series = {CHI '22},
abstract = {While systems that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) are increasingly becoming part of everyday technology use, we do not fully understand how AI changes design processes. A structured understanding of how designers work with AI is needed to improve the design process and educate future designers. To that end, we conducted interviews with designers who participated in projects which used AI. While past work focused on AI systems created by experienced designers, we focus on the perspectives of a diverse sample of interaction designers. Our results show that the design process of an interactive system is affected when AI is integrated and that design teams adapt their processes to accommodate AI. Based on our data, we contribute four approaches adopted by interaction designers working with AI: a priori, post-hoc, model-centric, and competence-centric. Our work contributes a pragmatic account of how design processes for AI systems are enacted.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
While systems that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) are increasingly becoming part of everyday technology use, we do not fully understand how AI changes design processes. A structured understanding of how designers work with AI is needed to improve the design process and educate future designers. To that end, we conducted interviews with designers who participated in projects which used AI. While past work focused on AI systems created by experienced designers, we focus on the perspectives of a diverse sample of interaction designers. Our results show that the design process of an interactive system is affected when AI is integrated and that design teams adapt their processes to accommodate AI. Based on our data, we contribute four approaches adopted by interaction designers working with AI: a priori, post-hoc, model-centric, and competence-centric. Our work contributes a pragmatic account of how design processes for AI systems are enacted.
Windl, Maximiliane; Ortloff, Anna-Marie; Henze, Niels; Schwind, Valentin
Privacy at a Glance: A Process to Learn Modular Privacy Icons During Web Browsing Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2022 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval, pp. 102–112, Association for Computing Machinery, Regensburg, Germany, 2022, ISBN: 9781450391863.
@inproceedings{windl2022icons,
title = {Privacy at a Glance: A Process to Learn Modular Privacy Icons During Web Browsing},
author = {Maximiliane Windl and Anna-Marie Ortloff and Niels Henze and Valentin Schwind},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/windl2022icons.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3498366.3505813},
isbn = {9781450391863},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
urldate = {2022-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2022 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval},
pages = {102–112},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {Regensburg, Germany},
series = {CHIIR '22},
abstract = {Privacy policies (PPs) are currently the only way to inform users about their rights and choices during web browsing and searching. However, users avoid engaging with them, because of their length and abstract legal language, which makes them hard to read and understand. We propose to support the understanding of PPs by using modular icons. Icons have already proven to be helpful in visualizing concepts with high information density. However, the value of using icons to supplement PPs lacks a scientific foundation. Thus, we conducted two studies to evaluate existing icon sets for their understandability and to teach participants their meaning in situ. We show that modular privacy icons can be taught using our process, which has the potential to aid quicker and easier comprehension of PPs. We contribute a set of tested modular privacy icons and a verified process on how to teach them to users incidentally during web browsing.},
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Privacy policies (PPs) are currently the only way to inform users about their rights and choices during web browsing and searching. However, users avoid engaging with them, because of their length and abstract legal language, which makes them hard to read and understand. We propose to support the understanding of PPs by using modular icons. Icons have already proven to be helpful in visualizing concepts with high information density. However, the value of using icons to supplement PPs lacks a scientific foundation. Thus, we conducted two studies to evaluate existing icon sets for their understandability and to teach participants their meaning in situ. We show that modular privacy icons can be taught using our process, which has the potential to aid quicker and easier comprehension of PPs. We contribute a set of tested modular privacy icons and a verified process on how to teach them to users incidentally during web browsing.
Windl, Maximiliane; Hiesinger, Alexander; Welsch, Robin; Schmidt, Albrecht; Feger, Sebastian S.
SaferHome: Interactive Physical and Digital Smart Home Dashboards for Communicating Privacy Assessments to Owners and Bystanders Journal Article
In: Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact., vol. 6, no. ISS, 2022.
@article{windl2022saferhome,
title = {SaferHome: Interactive Physical and Digital Smart Home Dashboards for Communicating Privacy Assessments to Owners and Bystanders},
author = {Maximiliane Windl and Alexander Hiesinger and Robin Welsch and Albrecht Schmidt and Sebastian S. Feger},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/windl2022saferhome.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3567739},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-11-01},
urldate = {2022-11-01},
journal = {Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact.},
volume = {6},
number = {ISS},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {New York, NY, USA},
abstract = {Private homes are increasingly becoming smart spaces. While smart homes promise comfort, they expose most intimate spaces to security and privacy risks. Unfortunately, most users today are not equipped with the right tools to assess the vulnerabilities or privacy practices of smart devices. Further, users might lose track of the devices installed in their homes or are unaware of devices placed by a partner or host. We developed SaferHome, an interactive digital-physical privacy framework, to provide smart home users with security and privacy assessments and a sense of device location. SaferHome includes a digital list view and physical and digital dashboards that map real floor plans. We evaluated SaferHome with eight households in the wild. We find that users adopted various strategies to integrate the dashboards into their understanding and interpretation of smart home privacy. We present implications for the design of future smart home privacy frameworks that are impacted by technical affinity, device types, device ownership, and tangibility of assessments.},
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Private homes are increasingly becoming smart spaces. While smart homes promise comfort, they expose most intimate spaces to security and privacy risks. Unfortunately, most users today are not equipped with the right tools to assess the vulnerabilities or privacy practices of smart devices. Further, users might lose track of the devices installed in their homes or are unaware of devices placed by a partner or host. We developed SaferHome, an interactive digital-physical privacy framework, to provide smart home users with security and privacy assessments and a sense of device location. SaferHome includes a digital list view and physical and digital dashboards that map real floor plans. We evaluated SaferHome with eight households in the wild. We find that users adopted various strategies to integrate the dashboards into their understanding and interpretation of smart home privacy. We present implications for the design of future smart home privacy frameworks that are impacted by technical affinity, device types, device ownership, and tangibility of assessments.
Windl, Maximiliane; Mayer, Sven
The Skewed Privacy Concerns of Bystanders in Smart Environments Journal Article
In: Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact., vol. 6, no. MHCI, 2022.
@article{windl2022skewed,
title = {The Skewed Privacy Concerns of Bystanders in Smart Environments},
author = {Maximiliane Windl and Sven Mayer},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/windl2022skewed.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3546719},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-09-01},
urldate = {2022-09-01},
journal = {Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact.},
volume = {6},
number = {MHCI},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {New York, NY, USA},
abstract = {As ubiquitous computing brings sensors and actuators directly into our homes, they introduce privacy concerns for the owners and bystanders. However, privacy concerns may vary among devices and depend on the bystanders' social relation to the owner. In this work, we hypothesize 1) that bystanders assign more privacy concerns to smart home devices than personal computing devices, such as smartphones, even though they have the same capabilities, and 2) that a stronger social relationship mitigates some of the bystanders' privacy concerns. By conducting an online survey (n=170), we found that personal computing devices are perceived as significantly less privacy-concerning than smart home devices while having equal capabilities. By varying the assumed social relationship, we further found that a stronger connection to the owner reduces privacy concerns. Thus, as bystanders underestimate the risk of personal computing devices and are generally concerned about smart home devices, it is essential to alert the user about the presence of both. We argue that bystanders have to be informed about the privacy risks while entering a new space, in the best case, already in the entrance area.},
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As ubiquitous computing brings sensors and actuators directly into our homes, they introduce privacy concerns for the owners and bystanders. However, privacy concerns may vary among devices and depend on the bystanders' social relation to the owner. In this work, we hypothesize 1) that bystanders assign more privacy concerns to smart home devices than personal computing devices, such as smartphones, even though they have the same capabilities, and 2) that a stronger social relationship mitigates some of the bystanders' privacy concerns. By conducting an online survey (n=170), we found that personal computing devices are perceived as significantly less privacy-concerning than smart home devices while having equal capabilities. By varying the assumed social relationship, we further found that a stronger connection to the owner reduces privacy concerns. Thus, as bystanders underestimate the risk of personal computing devices and are generally concerned about smart home devices, it is essential to alert the user about the presence of both. We argue that bystanders have to be informed about the privacy risks while entering a new space, in the best case, already in the entrance area.
2020
Ortloff, Anna-Marie; Windl, Maximiliane; Schwind, Valentin; Henze, Niels
Implementation and In Situ Assessment of Contextual Privacy Policies Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, pp. 1765–1778, Association for Computing Machinery, Eindhoven, Netherlands, 2020, ISBN: 9781450369749.
@inproceedings{ortloff2020implementation,
title = {Implementation and In Situ Assessment of Contextual Privacy Policies},
author = {Anna-Marie Ortloff and Maximiliane Windl and Valentin Schwind and Niels Henze},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ortloff2020cpp.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3357236.3395549},
isbn = {9781450369749},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
urldate = {2020-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference},
pages = {1765–1778},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {Eindhoven, Netherlands},
series = {DIS '20},
abstract = {Online services collect an increasing amount of data about their users. Privacy policies are currently the only common way to inform users about the kinds of data collected, stored and processed by online services. Previous work showed that users do not read and understand privacy policies, due to their length, difficult language, and often non-prominent location. Embedding privacy-relevant information directly in the context of use could help users understand the privacy implications of using online services. We implemented Contextual Privacy Policies (CPPs) as a browser extension and provide it to the community to make privacy information accessible for end-users. We evaluated CPPs through a one-week deployment and in situ questionnaires as well as pre- and post-study interviews. We found that CPPs were well received by participants. The analysis revealed that provided information should be as compact as possible, be adjusted to user groups and enable users to take action.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
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}
Online services collect an increasing amount of data about their users. Privacy policies are currently the only common way to inform users about the kinds of data collected, stored and processed by online services. Previous work showed that users do not read and understand privacy policies, due to their length, difficult language, and often non-prominent location. Embedding privacy-relevant information directly in the context of use could help users understand the privacy implications of using online services. We implemented Contextual Privacy Policies (CPPs) as a browser extension and provide it to the community to make privacy information accessible for end-users. We evaluated CPPs through a one-week deployment and in situ questionnaires as well as pre- and post-study interviews. We found that CPPs were well received by participants. The analysis revealed that provided information should be as compact as possible, be adjusted to user groups and enable users to take action.
2019
Ortloff, Anna-Marie; Windl, Maximiliane; Güntner, Lydia; Schmidt, Thomas
Towards a Graphical User Interface for Quantitative Analysis in Digital Musicology Miscellaneous
Mensch und Computer 2019 – Workshopband, 2019.
BibTeX | Links:
@misc{ortloff2019graphical,
title = {Towards a Graphical User Interface for Quantitative Analysis in Digital Musicology},
author = {Anna-Marie Ortloff and Maximiliane Windl and Lydia Güntner and Thomas Schmidt},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ortloff2019graphical.pdf},
doi = {10.18420/muc2019-ws-568},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
urldate = {2019-01-01},
address = {Bonn},
howpublished = {Mensch und Computer 2019 - Workshopband},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {misc}
}
Ortloff, Anna-Marie; Güntner, Lydia; Windl, Maximiliane; Schmidt, Thomas; Kocur, Martin; Wolff, Christian
SentiBooks: Enhancing Audiobooks via Affective Computing and Smart Light Bulbs Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of Mensch Und Computer 2019, pp. 863–866, Association for Computing Machinery, Hamburg, Germany, 2019, ISBN: 9781450371988.
@inproceedings{windl2019sentibooks,
title = {SentiBooks: Enhancing Audiobooks via Affective Computing and Smart Light Bulbs},
author = {Anna-Marie Ortloff and Lydia Güntner and Maximiliane Windl and Thomas Schmidt and Martin Kocur and Christian Wolff},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ortloff2019sentibooks.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3340764.3345368},
isbn = {9781450371988},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
urldate = {2019-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of Mensch Und Computer 2019},
pages = {863–866},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {Hamburg, Germany},
series = {MuC '19},
abstract = {We present SentiBooks, a smartphone application to enhance the audiobook listening experience via affective computing and smart light bulbs. Users can connect to Philips Hue Light Bulbs with a smartphone app while listening to an audiobook. The app analyzes the emotional expression of the narrator of the audiobook using speech emotion recognition and adjusts the colors of the lighting settings according to the expression of the narrator in 10-seconds intervals. By transitioning between colors that are connected to the specific emotion that is currently dominant in the reading, the overall audiobook experience is intensified.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
We present SentiBooks, a smartphone application to enhance the audiobook listening experience via affective computing and smart light bulbs. Users can connect to Philips Hue Light Bulbs with a smartphone app while listening to an audiobook. The app analyzes the emotional expression of the narrator of the audiobook using speech emotion recognition and adjusts the colors of the lighting settings according to the expression of the narrator in 10-seconds intervals. By transitioning between colors that are connected to the specific emotion that is currently dominant in the reading, the overall audiobook experience is intensified.
2018
Ortloff, Anna-Marie; Güntner, Lydia; Windl, Maximiliane; Feth, Denis; Polst, Svenja
Evaluation kontextueller Datenschutzerklärungen Book Section
In: Mensch und Computer 2018 – Workshopband, Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V., Bonn, 2018.
BibTeX | Links:
@incollection{ortloff2018evaluation,
title = {Evaluation kontextueller Datenschutzerklärungen},
author = {Anna-Marie Ortloff and Lydia Güntner and Maximiliane Windl and Denis Feth and Svenja Polst},
url = {https://maximiliane-windl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ortloff2018cpp.pdf},
doi = {10.18420/muc2018-ws08-0541},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
urldate = {2018-01-01},
booktitle = {Mensch und Computer 2018 - Workshopband},
publisher = {Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V.},
address = {Bonn},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}