Understanding the long-term impact and perceptions of privacy-enhancing technologies for bystander obscuration in AR

Wearable Augmented Reality (AR) devices are poised to provide a bright future of immersive ubiquitous experiences and interactions. While the powerful suite of sensors on modern AR devices are necessary for enabling the future of spatial computing, they can create unease in bystanders due to privacy concerns. A primary source of concern is related to the risk of identification and surveillance from recent advancements in facial recognition. Our position paper outlines a vision of wearable AR displays and sensors in which privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) protect bystanders’ identities and behaviors. Within this vision, we identify several long-term research questions related to perception, usability, and deployment of bystander PETs within the AR ecosystem that impact the nor-malization of wearable AR, privacy concerns for diverse users and use cases, and the resulting ethical considerations.