A Geoprivacy by Design Guideline for Research Campaigns That Use Participatory Sensing Data

J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics. 2018 Jul;13(3):203-222. doi: 10.1177/1556264618759877. Epub 2018 Apr 23.

Abstract

Participatory sensing applications collect personal data of monitored subjects along with their spatial or spatiotemporal stamps. The attributes of a monitored subject can be private, sensitive, or confidential information. Also, the spatial or spatiotemporal attributes are prone to inferential disclosure of private information. Although there is extensive problem-oriented literature on geoinformation disclosure, our work provides a clear guideline with practical relevance, containing the steps that a research campaign should follow to preserve the participants' privacy. We first examine the technical aspects of geoprivacy in the context of participatory sensing data. Then, we propose privacy-preserving steps in four categories, namely, ensuring secure and safe settings, actions prior to the start of a research survey, processing and analysis of collected data, and safe disclosure of datasets and research deliverables.

Keywords: anonymization methods; disclosure risk; geoprivacy by design; location privacy; mobile participatory sensors; research design; spatial analysis; spatiotemporal data.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Confidentiality*
  • Data Analysis
  • Data Collection / methods*
  • Disclosure
  • Guidelines as Topic*
  • Humans
  • Mobile Applications
  • Monitoring, Ambulatory / methods*
  • Privacy*
  • Remote Sensing Technology*
  • Research Design*
  • Spatial Analysis
  • Surveys and Questionnaires