Exploring the privacy and security challenges faced by migrant domestic workers in Chinese smart homes

Shijing He; Xiao Zhan; Yaxiong Lei; Yueyan Liu; Ruba Abu-Salma; Jose Such

doi:10.1145/3706598.3713616

Exploring the privacy and security challenges faced by migrant domestic workers in Chinese smart homes

Shijing He, Xiao Zhan, Yaxiong Lei, Yueyan Liu, Ruba Abu-Salma, Jose Such

School of Computer Science

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Abstract

The growing use of smart home devices poses considerable privacy and security challenges, especially for individuals like migrant domestic workers (MDWs) who may be surveilled by their employers. This paper explores the privacy and security challenges experienced by MDWs in multi-user smart homes through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 26 MDWs and 5 staff members of agencies that recruit and/or train domestic workers in China. Our findings reveal that the relationships between MDWs, their employers, and agencies are characterized by significant power imbalances, influenced by Chinese cultural and social factors (such as Confucianism and collectivism), as well as legal ones. Furthermore, the widespread and normalized use of surveillance technologies in China, particularly in public spaces, exacerbates these power imbalances, reinforcing a sense of constant monitoring and control. Drawing on our findings, we provide recommendations to domestic worker agencies and policymakers to address the privacy and security challenges facing MDWs in Chinese smart homes.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the 2025 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI '25)
Editors	Naomi Yamashita, Vanessa Evers, Xianghua (Sharon) Ding, Bongshin Lee, Marshini Chetty, Phoebe Toups-Dugas
Place of Publication	New York
Publisher	ACM
Pages	1-18
Number of pages	18
ISBN (Print)	9798400713941
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713616
Publication status	Published - 25 Apr 2025

Keywords

Internet of Things (IoT)
Smart homes
Migrant domestic workers
Multi-user privacy

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He, S., Zhan, X., Lei, Y., Liu, Y., Abu-Salma, R., & Such, J. (2025). Exploring the privacy and security challenges faced by migrant domestic workers in Chinese smart homes. In N. Yamashita, V. Evers, X. Ding, B. Lee, M. Chetty, & P. Toups-Dugas (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2025 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI '25) (pp. 1-18). Article 920 ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713616

He, Shijing ; Zhan, Xiao ; Lei, Yaxiong et al. / Exploring the privacy and security challenges faced by migrant domestic workers in Chinese smart homes. Proceedings of the 2025 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI '25). editor / Naomi Yamashita ; Vanessa Evers ; Xianghua (Sharon) Ding ; Bongshin Lee ; Marshini Chetty ; Phoebe Toups-Dugas. New York : ACM, 2025. pp. 1-18

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abstract = "The growing use of smart home devices poses considerable privacy and security challenges, especially for individuals like migrant domestic workers (MDWs) who may be surveilled by their employers. This paper explores the privacy and security challenges experienced by MDWs in multi-user smart homes through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 26 MDWs and 5 staff members of agencies that recruit and/or train domestic workers in China. Our findings reveal that the relationships between MDWs, their employers, and agencies are characterized by significant power imbalances, influenced by Chinese cultural and social factors (such as Confucianism and collectivism), as well as legal ones. Furthermore, the widespread and normalized use of surveillance technologies in China, particularly in public spaces, exacerbates these power imbalances, reinforcing a sense of constant monitoring and control. Drawing on our findings, we provide recommendations to domestic worker agencies and policymakers to address the privacy and security challenges facing MDWs in Chinese smart homes.",

keywords = "Internet of Things (IoT), Smart homes, Migrant domestic workers, Multi-user privacy",

author = "Shijing He and Xiao Zhan and Yaxiong Lei and Yueyan Liu and Ruba Abu-Salma and Jose Such",

note = "Funding: Shijing He is supported by a King{\textquoteright}s-China Scholarship Council (K-CSC) PhD Scholarship, and Yaxiong Lei is supported by a Joint Scholarship from the University of St Andrews and China Scholarship Council.",

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He, S, Zhan, X, Lei, Y, Liu, Y, Abu-Salma, R & Such, J 2025, Exploring the privacy and security challenges faced by migrant domestic workers in Chinese smart homes. in N Yamashita, V Evers, X Ding, B Lee, M Chetty & P Toups-Dugas (eds), Proceedings of the 2025 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI '25)., 920, ACM, New York, pp. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713616

Exploring the privacy and security challenges faced by migrant domestic workers in Chinese smart homes. / He, Shijing; Zhan, Xiao; Lei, Yaxiong et al.
Proceedings of the 2025 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI '25). ed. / Naomi Yamashita; Vanessa Evers; Xianghua (Sharon) Ding; Bongshin Lee; Marshini Chetty; Phoebe Toups-Dugas. New York: ACM, 2025. p. 1-18 920.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

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AB - The growing use of smart home devices poses considerable privacy and security challenges, especially for individuals like migrant domestic workers (MDWs) who may be surveilled by their employers. This paper explores the privacy and security challenges experienced by MDWs in multi-user smart homes through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 26 MDWs and 5 staff members of agencies that recruit and/or train domestic workers in China. Our findings reveal that the relationships between MDWs, their employers, and agencies are characterized by significant power imbalances, influenced by Chinese cultural and social factors (such as Confucianism and collectivism), as well as legal ones. Furthermore, the widespread and normalized use of surveillance technologies in China, particularly in public spaces, exacerbates these power imbalances, reinforcing a sense of constant monitoring and control. Drawing on our findings, we provide recommendations to domestic worker agencies and policymakers to address the privacy and security challenges facing MDWs in Chinese smart homes.

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A2 - Toups-Dugas, Phoebe

PB - ACM

CY - New York

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He S, Zhan X, Lei Y, Liu Y, Abu-Salma R, Such J. Exploring the privacy and security challenges faced by migrant domestic workers in Chinese smart homes. In Yamashita N, Evers V, Ding X, Lee B, Chetty M, Toups-Dugas P, editors, Proceedings of the 2025 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI '25). New York: ACM. 2025. p. 1-18. 920 doi: 10.1145/3706598.3713616

Exploring the privacy and security challenges faced by migrant domestic workers in Chinese smart homes

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Keywords

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