Mitigating Privacy Harms from Deceptive Design in Virtual Reality

After the wide adoption of commercial virtual reality (VR), this research proposes to systematically examine and classify deceptive user interface designs (also known as “dark patterns”) that coerce, steer, or manipulate users’ information privacy decisions in immersive VR environments. While previous research has examined deceptive design issues in websites, mobile apps, games, and social networks, the extent of these problems in VR remains under-explored, particularly in a Canadian context. Earlier work on VR privacy deceptive design relied on hypothetical scenarios, which signified the need to examine the privacy implications of the embodied experience of VR use in the real world.

The goal of this research is to address the lack of scholarly and cultural discernment of the negative effects of deceptive design on user information privacy in commercial VR applications. Deceptive design in VR is a rapidly evolving privacy concern. By identifying and classifying deceptive design patterns in VR that undermine and subvert users’ privacy, the researchers seek to develop countermeasures and guidelines to counteract their negative impact, increase awareness, and provide design and policy guidelines and recommendations to VR developers, policymakers, and government. The researchers anticipate that the research will lead to opportunities to improve the design of VR applications and seed recommendations for privacy regulations to better protect Canadians.