Investigating Privacy-Augmented Displays for Mobile Devices

With more individuals accessing sensitive data in public situations, designers of mobile applications must determine the best ways to keep that information private. This research looks at using pixels, which convey information using color, in conjunction with text in order to maintain desired levels of privacy in otherwise non-private displays. Since privacy can vary according to a person's preferences, a questionnaire was first administered to determine what types of information individuals generally prefer to keep private. The results of the questionnaire were then used to create an experiment to test the usefulness of privacy-augmented text on a handheld device in two different information contexts - a financial account statement and results from a hospital visit. Results show that individuals can use pixels to effectively recognize numeric and other coded data, and are positive in their perceptions of such mixed use of display formats for privacy purposes.