Abstract
Fundamental to Augmented Reality (AR) headsets is their capacity to visually and aurally sense the world around them,
necessary to drive the positional tracking that makes rendering 3D spatial content possible. This requisite sensing also
opens the door for more advanced AR-driven activities, such as augmented perception, volumetric capture and biometric
identication - activities with the potential to expose bystanders to signicant privacy risks. Existing Privacy-Enhancing
Technologies (PETs) often safeguard against these risks at a low level e.g., instituting camera access controls. However,
we argue that such PETs are incompatible with the need for always-on sensing given AR headsets’ intended everyday
use. Through an online survey (N=102), we examine bystanders’ awareness of, and concerns regarding, potentially privacy
infringing AR activities; the extent to which bystanders’ consent should be sought; and the level of granularity of information
necessary to provide awareness of AR activities to bystanders. Our ndings suggest that PETs should take into account the
AR activity type, and relationship to bystanders, selectively facilitating awareness and consent. In this way, we can ensure
bystanders feel their privacy is respected by everyday AR headsets, and avoid unnecessary rejection of these powerful devices
by society.
