Privacy in Repair

This paper presents an analysis of the privacy issues associated with the practice of repairing broken digital objects in Bangladesh. Historically, research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICTD), and related disciplines has focused on the design and development of new interventions or technologies. As a result, the repair of old or broken technologies has been an often neglected topic of research. The goal of our work is to improve the practices surrounding the repair of digital artifacts in developing countries. Specifically, in this paper we examine the privacy challenges associated with the process of repairing digital artifacts, which usually requires that the owner of a broken artifact hand over the technology to a repairer. Findings…