AR/VR Sensor Privacy & Gaze-Biometric Exposure Lab (2D): Understanding the Risks of Spatial Mapping and Eye-Tracking

What Sensor Permissions Mean

Sensor permissions are critical for applications to access hardware capabilities like the camera or location services. In the context of AR/VR, spatial-mapping and eye-tracking sensors can provide immersive experiences but also pose significant privacy risks by collecting detailed data about a user's environment and gaze patterns.

By toggling these sensor APIs on and off, users can see how their virtual presence in a space is mapped or tracked, which can reveal sensitive information such as room layouts and personal habits.

Impact of Third-Party App Trust

The level of trust granted to third-party apps can significantly affect privacy. Higher levels of trust allow more access to collected data, increasing the risk of unauthorized use or data breaches.

By adjusting the slider for third-party app trust, users can observe how different levels of trust impact the exposure of their gaze biometrics and room layout details.

On-Device Privacy Mitigations

Privacy mitigations are measures taken on the device to protect user data. These include features like secure enclaves, encryption, and access controls that can limit how much information is shared with third parties.

By dialing up or down the privacy mitigation strength, users can see how these settings affect the balance between usability and privacy.

Room-Layout Leakage and Gaze-Biometric Identifiability

The 2D floor-plan model allows users to visualize how their virtual presence in a space is mapped. As spatial-mapping permissions are toggled, the room layout can be revealed, potentially compromising privacy.

Gaze biometrics refer to the analysis of eye movements and gaze patterns. By adjusting eye-tracking sensor permissions and third-party app trust, users can see how these factors contribute to identifiability.

Frequently asked questions

Try it live

Everything above runs in your browser — open AR/VR Sensor Privacy & Gaze-Biometric Exposure Lab (2D) and change the parameters while it is running. Nothing is installed, nothing is uploaded, the whole model lives in one tab.