Abstract

Users’ perceptions of fitness tracking privacy is a subject of active study, but how do various aspects of identities inform these perceptions? We conducted an online survey (N=323) that explores the influence of identity on fitness tracking privacy perceptions and practices, considering participants’ gender, race, age or sexual orientation. Participants reported how comfortable they felt sharing fitness data, commented on whether they believed their identity impacted this comfort, and brainstormed several data sharing risks and a possible mitigation for each risk. We found 64% of participants indicated at least one of their identity characteristics does inform their comfort. Gender was the characteristic for which the highest proportion of participants indicated it informed their comfort. We also found that the perceived risks of sharing fitness data vary by identity. This work highlights a path towards reasoning about the privacy challenges of fitness tracking with respect for the experiences of all stakeholders.