Understanding the Security Advice Mechanisms of Low Socioeconomic PakistanisLow socioeconomic populations face severe security challenges while being unable to access traditional written advice resources. We present the first study to explore the security advice landscape of low socioeconomic people in Pakistan. With 20 semi-structured interviews, we uncover how they learn and share security advice and what factors enable or limit their advice sharing. Our findings highlight that they heavily rely on community advice and intermediation to establish and maintain security-related practices (such as passwords). We uncover how shifting social environments shape advice dissemination, e.g., across different workplaces. Participants leverage their social structures to protect each other against threats that exploit their financial vulnerability and lack of digital literacy. However, we uncover barriers to social advice mechanisms, limiting their effectiveness, which may lead to increased security and privacy risks. Our results lay the foundation for rethinking security paradigms and advice for this vulnerable population.2025SHSumair Ijaz Hashmi et al.CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security; Saarland UniversityPrivacy by Design & User ControlDark Patterns RecognitionEmpowerment of Marginalized GroupsCHI
Moderation as Empowerment: Creating and Managing Women-Only Digital Safe SpacesThis paper explores the creation, management and moderation of women-only online groups as digital safe spaces. We interview eleven founders and moderators of six distinct, closed, women-only Facebook groups that predominantly cater to women in and from the Global South. The study provides insights into the motivations and mechanisms for creating and moderating these safe spaces, the affordances of social networking sites that enable or hinder the creation and moderation of such spaces and finally, and the deep impact moderating such spaces has on the women who manage them. Based on these findings we discuss suggestions for specific technological affordances to enable and support digital safe spaces for marginalized and vulnerable communities.2022TATawfiq Ammari et al.Platform Moderation; Platform ModerationCSCW
What are you thinking?: Using CBT and Storytelling to Improve Mental Health Among College StudentsDepression and anxiety among college students have been on the rise globally. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has emerged as an empirically reinforced and effective treatment. However, factors like cost, lack of resources, misguided prioritization and stigmatization of mental health issues in the Global South limit students’ access to psychotherapy. While technology can bridge this gap, research shows current self-guided mHealth apps for CBT are not always evidence-based and have limited efficacy compared to therapist-guided alternatives. In this paper, we explore whether interactive storytelling and other gamification mechanisms can increase the efficacy of a self-guided mHealth app, while drawing from empirically supported CBT protocols. We designed an mHealth application with contextualised storylines to help students learn psychological concepts and better identify the negative patterns in their thoughts. We present the results of a 3-arm randomized controlled trial conducted to assess the effect of this application compared to active and inactive control conditions.2022AHAleesha Hamid et al.Lahore University of Management SciencesGamification DesignMental Health Apps & Online Support CommunitiesInteractive Narrative & Immersive StorytellingCHI
"Ask this from the person who has private stuff": Privacy Perceptions, Behaviours and Beliefs Beyond W.E.I.R.DWe explore privacy perceptions, beliefs and practices of low-literate, low-income users in Pakistan, a patriarchal and religious context with a literacy rate of approx. 68% and where 59% of mobile users have less than 6 years of formal education. Through a qualitative study with 40 participants(17 male and 23 female) we examine the cultural, religious, and familial structures that impact users perceptions, management, and control of their personal privacy. We reveal significant gendered differences in privacy understandings, privacy preserving practices and the access to privacy related knowledge. Our work also highlights the seminal impact religious beliefs have on men and women's understandings and management of privacy and the prolific use of after-market modified apps to support users specific privacy needs. The privacy concerns raised by our participants provide HCI researchers with valuable insights into designing privacy affordances for vulnerable and diverse populations beyond Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic contexts.2022SNSheza Naveed et al.Lahore University of Management SciencesPrivacy Perception & Decision-MakingTechnology Ethics & Critical HCIDeveloping Countries & HCI for Development (HCI4D)CHI
"We Even Borrowed Money From Our Neighbor": Understanding Mobile-based Frauds Through Victims' ExperiencesMobile-based scams are on the rise in emerging markets. However, mobile users' awareness about these scams and the ways to avoid them remains limited. We present an analysis of a qualitative study to examine dynamics of SMS and call based frauds, collectively referred to as mobile-based frauds in the paper, in Pakistan with 96 participants, including different stakeholders in the mobile financial ecosystem: 71 victims of SMS and voice scam, seven non-victims, 15 mobile money agents, and three officials from regulatory agencies that investigate mobile-based phishing attacks. Leveraging the perspectives from different stakeholders, we make four concrete contributions: First, using the four-step social-engineering attack framework, we identify the nuances as well as specific tactics that fraudsters use to scam mobile users. Second, we look beyond the victim and the adversary to study all the actors involved or affected, the roles they played at each step, and the methods and resources used by the adversaries. Third, we discuss victims' understanding of mobile frauds, their behavior post-realization, and their attitudes toward reporting fraud. Finally, we discuss possible points of intervention and offer design recommendations to thwart mobile fraud, including addressing the vulnerabilities in the ecosystem discovered during this study, utilizing existing actors to mitigate the consequences of these attacks, and revisiting the design of fraud reporting mechanisms to be in line with the sociocultural practices.2021LRLubna Razaq et al.User ExperiencesCSCW
Seeing is Believing: Exploring Perceptual Differences in DeepFake VideosWith AI on the boom, DeepFakes have emerged as a tool with a massive potential for abuse. The hyper-realistic imagery of these manipulated videos coupled with the expedited delivery models of social media platforms gives deception, propaganda, and disinformation an entirely new meaning. Hence, raising awareness about DeepFakes and how to accurately flag them has become imperative. However, given differences in human cognition and perception, this is not straightforward. In this paper, we perform an investigative user study and also analyze existing AI detection algorithms from the literature to demystify the unknowns that are at play behind the scenes when detecting DeepFakes. Based on our findings, we design a customized training program to improve detection and evaluate on a treatment group of low-literate population, which is most vulnerable to DeepFakes. Our results suggest that, while DeepFakes are becoming imperceptible, contextualized education and training can help raise awareness and improve detection.2021RTRashid Tahir et al.University of Prince MugrinDeepfake & Synthetic Media DetectionMisinformation & Fact-CheckingCHI
Karamad: A Voice-based Crowd-sourcing Platform for Under-served PopulationsCrowdsourcing enables the completion of large-scale and hard-to-automate tasks while allowing people to earn money. However, 3.6 billion people – a workforce comprising 46.4% of the world population – who could benefit most from this source of income lack the access and literacy to use computers, smartphones, and the internet. In this paper, we present, Karamad, a voice-based crowdsourcing platform that allows workers in low-resource regions to complete crowd work using low-end phones and receive payments as mobile airtime balance. We explore the usefulness, scalability, and sustainability of Karamad in Pakistan through a 6-month deployment. Without any advertising, training, or airtime subsidies, Karamad organically engaged 725 workers who completed 3,939 tasks (involving 43,006 components) including translations, dataset generation, and surveys on demographics, accessibility, disability, health, employment, and literacy. Collectively, the workers produced a valuable service market for potential customers and included female, unemployed, non-literate, and blind users.2021SRShan M Randhawa et al.New York UniversityAugmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC)Crowdsourcing Task Design & Quality ControlDeveloping Countries & HCI for Development (HCI4D)CHI
Religion and Women's Intimate Health: Towards an Inclusive Approach to HealthcareWe present findings from a three country study exploring the intersection between female intimate health and religious beliefs. Through a qualitative study with Muslim female populations in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia, three different Muslim majority contexts, we examine the deep impact Islamic beliefs have on female intimate health and well-being. Our study investigates the perceptions, attitudes and behaviours of Muslim women to their own intimate and sexual bodies through their experiences of menarche, marriage and reproduction and menopause. The intersection of religion and female sexual bodies and health is a neglected area within HCI and we highlight how inextricably specific Islamic values are linked with women's reproductive health in Muslim communities. We further discuss the opportunities and challenges of designing technologies for religious, non-secular beliefs and values with the aim to improve intimate health practices amongst Muslim women and to broaden the scope of health design within HCI.2021MMMaryam Mustafa et al.Lahore University of Management SciencesReproductive & Women's HealthInclusive DesignTechnology Ethics & Critical HCICHI
Designing Digital Safe Spaces For Peer Support and Connectivity in Patriarchal ContextsThis paper explores the opportunities and challenges in designing peer-support mechanisms for low-income, low-literate women in Pakistan, a patriarchal and religious context where women's movements, social relations and access to digital technologies are restricted. Through a qualitative, empirical study with 21 participants we examine the cultural and patriarchal framework where shame and fear of defamation restrict the seeking of support for personal narratives around taboo subjects like abortion, sexual harassment, rape and domestic abuse. Based on our qualitative data we also conduct a participatory design activity with 15 low-income, low-literate women to explore the specific design of peer-support technologies for support seeking and the sharing of sensitive and taboo narratives in a deeply patriarchal society. The design concerns raised by our participants regarding privacy, anonymity and safety provide CSCW researchers with valuable guidelines about designing for social connections and support for vulnerable populations within a particular context.2020MNMustafa Naseem et al.Online Community ReflectionsCSCW
An Empirical Comparison of Technologically Mediated Advertising in Under-connected PopulationsInformation and Communication Technology interventions have the potential to improve outcomes in health and other development sectors in low-income settings. Large-scale impact, however, remains the central challenge for the HCI4D community as significant and diverse resources are typically required to scale such interventions beyond the pilot stage. In contrast, voice-based entertainment services accessible over simple phones, designed for similarly low-income, low-literate populations manage to scale 'virally' to tens of thousands of users with little to no advertising cost. Our study compares the outcomes of using voice-based entertainment to spread a maternal-health hotline against conventional advertisement channels including paper flyers, posters, radio, TV, social media and robocalls. Through an 11-week deployment in Pakistan where the hotline reached 21,770 users over 32,625 calls, we find that the entertainment service outperformed other channels on all popular user acquisition metrics, with the exception of robocalls, which lead in terms of spread.2020MNMustafa Naseem et al.University of MichiganDeveloping Countries & HCI for Development (HCI4D)User Research Methods (Interviews, Surveys, Observation)CHI
EAST: Early Autism Screening Tool for PreschoolersWe describe the iterative co-design process and evaluation of an early autism screening tool (EAST). EAST is an intermediary interactive tablet based app that assists in the early-detection of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by screening preschoolers in Pakistan through play-based activities in a home, school or clinical setting. Medical professionals, parents of autistic children and teachers were surveyed through focus groups to understand the reasons that contribute to the increasing number of missed early detections, and late- or misdiagnoses. We also evaluate the acceptability, usability and validity of our tool. We tested EAST with both typically developed and autistic children on how they relate to people, imitation, motor skills, visual and intellectual response. They were scored via time taken, the number of wrong attempts, or incorrect answers and audiovisual feedback. This paper contributes towards a digital autism screening tool that delivers insights into the child's behaviour and enables collaboration among parents, teachers and medical professionals.2020MAMuhammad Bilal Arshad et al.Lahore University of Management and SciencesSpecial Education TechnologyUser Research Methods (Interviews, Surveys, Observation)CHI
MissIt: Using Missed Calls for Free, Extremely Low Bit-Rate Communication in Developing RegionsMobile devices have become the primary mode for Internet access in developing countries. Yet typical data plans and SMS costs can be overwhelming for low income users in these countries. In this paper, we explore the design and usability of a free but extremely low bit rate communication channel to address this challenge. We propose, a data communication channel that uses to transmit messages between phones, thereby sacrificing performance in exchange for low cost. While the data rate of is extremely low (<1 bps), our prototype implementation and small scale user studies explore the feasibility of this idea for different types of messaging scenarios. Our results show that could be a viable option for messaging scenarios that require short, pre-determined responses (e.g., survey questions) while for traditional SMS-style messaging, a suitable user interface and other customizations are likely required to make it a viable option for users.2020FDFahad R Dogar et al.Tufts UniversityDeveloping Countries & HCI for Development (HCI4D)Participatory DesignCHI
Patriarchy, Maternal Health and Spiritual Healing: Designing Maternal Health Interventions in PakistanWe examine the opportunities and challenges in designing for maternal health in low-income, low-resource communities in patriarchal and religious contexts. Pakistan faces a crisis in maternal health with a maternal mortality ratio of 178 deaths per 100,000 live births, as compared to the developed-country average of just 12 deaths per 100,000. Through a 6-month long qualitative, empirical study we examine the prevalent beliefs and practices around maternal health in Pakistan, the access women have to health-care, the existing religious practices that influence them and the agency they exert in their own health-care decision making. We reveal the rampant misinformation among mothers and health workers, house-hold power dynamics that impact maternal health and the deep link between maternal health and religious beliefs. We also show how current maternal health care interventions fit poorly into this context and discuss alternate design recommendations for meeting the maternal health needs of these women.2020MMMaryam Mustafa et al.Lahore University of Management SciencesReproductive & Women's HealthEmpowerment of Marginalized GroupsCHI
ALAP: Accessible LaTeX Based Mathematical Document Authoring and PresentationAssistive technologies such as screen readers and text editors have been used in past to improve the accessibility and authoring of scientific and mathematical documents. However, most screens readers fail to narrate complex mathematical notations and expressions as they skip symbols and necessary information required for the accurate narration of mathematical content. This study aims at evaluating a new Accessible LaTeX Based Mathematical Document Authoring and Presentation (ALAP) tool, which assist people with visual impairments in reading and writing mathematical documents. ALAP includes features like, assistive debugging, Math Mode for reading and writing mathematical notations, and automatic generation of an accessible PDF document. These features aim to improve the LaTeX debugging experience and make it simple for blind users to author mathematical content by narrating it in natural language through the use of integrated text to speech (TTS) engine. We evaluated ALAP by conducting a study with 18 visually impaired LaTeX users. The results showed that users preferred ALAP over another comparable LaTeX based authoring tool and were relatively more comfortable in completing the tasks while using ALAP.2019AMAhtsham Manzoor et al.Lahore University of Management SciencesVisual Impairment Technologies (Screen Readers, Tactile Graphics, Braille)Special Education TechnologyCHI
Digital Financial Needs of Micro-entrepreneur Women in Pakistan: Is Mobile Money The Answer?This paper studies the use of Digital Financial Services (DFS) as a solution to women's financial inclusion in deeply patriarchal, resource constrained communities. Through a qualitative, empirical study we map the financial life cycles of 20 women micro-entrepreneurs in different cities in Pakistan and the challenges they face. We explore how technology is currently influencing these women's businesses and personal lives and reveal how mobile money is not tuned to the problems they face and their financial needs. We present alternate design directions for meeting the technological and financial needs of these women, circumnavigating the patriarchal structures that constrain them.2019MMMaryam Mustafa et al.Information Technology UniversityVisual Impairment Technologies (Screen Readers, Tactile Graphics, Braille)Sustainable HCIEcological Design & Green ComputingCHI