Privacy in the Age of the Internet of Things:

Perceptions and Practices in Households

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/psj.v4i.150180

Keywords:

IoT, Home, Privacy work, Privacy rationales, Privacy concerns

Abstract

Scientific and media discourse on the Internet of Things (IoT) emphasizes privacy concerns as a possible hurdle to widespread adoption. Drawing on a study conducted with users of home IoT devices and stakeholders, this article examines their perceptions, attitudes, and practices through the framework of privacy concerns, privacy rationales, and privacy work. The results show that users are ambivalent regarding data collection and transfer by IoT devices, oscillating between the advantages of personalization and fears of data commercialization, often accompanied by feelings of powerlessness and privacy resignation. Privacy rationales frequently translate into privacy work that includes rejection, digital housekeeping, and finding appropriate locations in the home. As IoT adoption expands beyond higher educated and higher skilled users, more effort should be made in regulating products and protecting citizens from the increased datafication of everyday life.

Author Biographies

Marta Rosales, Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa

Marta Vilar Rosales is a Research Fellow at the ICS-UL. She received her doctorate in Anthropology in 2007 from NOVA, where she was assistant professor. She has developed and coordinated ethnographic research in Angola, Mozambique, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Australia, and Portugal on contemporary migrations, material culture and everyday life. She is also interested in media anthropology in migratory contexts and food anthropology. She coordinates the PhD program on Migration Studies at ICS-UL and the research project TRANSITS - Material Culture, Migration and Everyday Life.

Mónica Truninger, Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa

Monica Truninger is a sociologist and senior research fellow at the Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa. She has a PhD in Sociology from the University of Manchester. The projects she has been developing and participating in teams cover various topics: food planning in the city-region of Lisbon (FoodClic, Horizon Europe); the application of SSH tools to the implementation of the European Green Deal (SharedGreenDeal, Horizon 2020); the links between food shops in large towns that sell local foods with the productive territories in rural areas (STRINGS/FCT co-leadership); sustainability and the opinions of the Portuguese (through Large Surveys on Sustainability/Mission Continente, co-leadership); food safety and hygienic-sanitary issues in consumers (Safeconsume/Horizon 2020, ICS team leadership); food freshness (ESRC/UK, International Co-PI); food poverty and families with children (FFHT/ERC, ICS team co-leadership); food insecurity in families with children (POAT/QREN, leadership); alternatives and commons (TRANSE-AC, ICS team leadership); school food system and sustainable public procurement (FCT, leadership). The methodological approaches are mixed, ranging from quantitative to qualitative methods.

Jussara Rowland, Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa

Jussara Rowland is a sociologist and post-doctoral researcher at ICS-ULisboa. Holding a doctorate in sociology from ISCTE-University Institute of Lisbon, her thesis was centered on the discursive construction of Corporate Social Responsibility. In recent years, she has been engaged in projects focusing on children and young people, digital practices, and science communication and engagement. Her contributions extend to several national and international initiatives, notably “CUIDAR: Cultures of Disaster Resilience among Children and Young People” and “CONCISE: Communication's Role in the Perception and Beliefs of EU Citizens about Science,” both supported by the European Commission. Presently, she is involved in the European project “CO2 Geological Pilots in Strategic Territories - PilotSTRATEGY.” Her current research interests include the use of participatory and creative methods, the impact of digital media on contemporary societies, and science communication.

Ana Viseu

Ana Viseu is Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences at the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal and a member of ICNOVA. She received her PHD from the University of Toronto. Her research draws on feminist technoscience and science and technology studies to examine the development, use and governance of emerging technologies. She currently heads a funded project on “autonomous stores”.

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Published

2025-02-27

How to Cite

Delicado, A., Rosales, M., Truninger, M., Rowland, J., & Viseu, A. (2025). Privacy in the Age of the Internet of Things: : Perceptions and Practices in Households. Privacy Studies Journal, 4, 31–58. https://doi.org/10.7146/psj.v4i.150180

Issue

Vol. 4 (2025): Current publications

Section

Research Articles

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Copyright (c) 2025 Ana Delicado, Marta Rosales, Mónica Truninger, Jussara Rowland, Ana Viseu

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.