Designing Interactive Privacy Labels for Advanced Smart Home Device Configuration Options

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.