Well-intended but half-hearted: Hosts' consideration of guests' privacy using smart devices on rental properties

Park, S., He, W., Deldari, E., Emami-Naeini, P., Huang, D.Y., Vitak, J., Yao, Y. and Zimmer, M. (2024) Well-intended but half-hearted: Hosts' consideration of guests' privacy using smart devices on rental properties. In Proceedings of the 20th Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security, SOUPS 2024. USENIX. pp. 179-198 .

Abstract

The increased use of smart home devices (SHDs) on short-term rental (STR) properties raises privacy concerns for guests. While previous literature identifies guests' privacy concerns and the need to negotiate guests' privacy preferences with hosts, there is a lack of research from the hosts' perspectives. This paper investigates if and how hosts consider guests' privacy when using their SHDs on their STRs, to understand hosts' willingness to accommodate guests' privacy concerns, a starting point for negotiation. We conducted online interviews with 15 STR hosts (e.g., Airbnb/Vrbo), finding that they generally use, manage, and disclose their SHDs in ways that protect guests' privacy. However, hosts' practices fell short of their intentions because of competing needs and goals (i.e., protecting their property versus protecting guests' privacy). Findings also highlight that hosts do not have proper support from the platforms on how to navigate these competing goals. Therefore, we discuss how to improve platforms' guidelines/policies to prevent and resolve conflicts with guests and measures to increase engagement from both sides to set ground for negotiation.

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Contributors

Author: W. He

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