Automated privacy control

Systems and approaches are provided for automating privacy control for a computing device based on a privacy or security context of the device. The privacy or security context of the computing device can be determined by analyzing sensor data or other input data captured by the device. The sensor and other input data can provide information such as a location of the computing device or the presence of other persons within the vicinity of the device to indicate whether the user is situated within a private or secure setting or a public or unsecure setting. A privacy or security control can be updated based on the determined privacy or security context, such as modifying a manner of displaying a pin or password during entry, elements of a home screen of the computing device, or preview content of user applications.