“I Feel More Worried About My Privacy” Public Perceptions of Biometric Traces in Everyday Interactions
Saad, A., Winterhalter, V., Strauss, M. & Schneegass, S.
Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2026
Summary
People leave behind biometric traces through everyday interactions, often without fully understanding their implications. While biometric technologies increasingly rely on subtle behavioral and interaction-based signals, little is known about how people perceive these traces in daily life. We present findings from an exploratory online study (N = 120) that used short, scenario-based videos to illustrate situations in which biometric traces may be inadvertently exposed, including fingerprints, gait, thermal residues, and interaction patterns in virtual environments. We examine which traces people recognize, how concerned they are about potential misuse, and how brief exposure to such scenarios shapes privacy perception. Results show that awareness and concern frequently diverge. Participants were familiar with visible, well-known biometrics, yet less aware of emerging or interaction-borne traces. Importantly, exposure to the scenarios prompted several participants to reconsider their privacy assumptions.
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Cite as
Saad, A., Winterhalter, V., Strauss, M. & Schneegass, S. (2026). “I Feel More Worried About My Privacy” Public Perceptions of Biometric Traces in Everyday Interactions. In Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1–6). https://doi.org/10.1145/3772363.3798601
