Exploring Perceptions of a Localized Content-Sharing System Using Users-as-Beacons

We envision a unique social interaction system, ‘users-as-beacons’ built upon Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon technology, that could provide potential privacy benefits. It leverages BLE to employ the user devices to act as mobile beacons. Its potential applications include community-based social networking, localized advertising, and instant reviewing. To evaluate the potential for this system and inform design, we conducted an exploratory interview study of 27 participants of a hypothetical localized content-creating system. Using a design prototype and multiple scenarios as prompts, we asked questions regarding users’ perceptions of the potential benefits and challenges of a users-as-beacons system, focusing in particular on their privacy concerns and needs. Our results indicate that users do perceive the benefit of increased trustworthiness of user-beacons, but do not have expectations of greater location or behavioral tracking privacy. We highlight multiple design challenges of this system in supporting the trustworthy, relevant, and timely sharing of posts between people in a community.