IMception: Camouflaging sensitive-apps' chat-screens with deceptive UIs

Abstract

Several privacy sensitive apps, e.g., dating apps, and medical counselling apps are equipped with Instant Messaging (IM) features. Messenger features in such apps, let users to chat romantically or as a part of getting personal counselling. However, frequently interacting with the app's messenger service privately, is difficult in public spaces. We term such public spaces as Casual Acquaintance-prone Spaces (CAS). To overcome the limitations associated with interacting with sensitive apps, we propose IMception, a design solution to camouflage sensitive apps' messenger-feature within another app's UI. To conceptualize the design of IMception, we conducted a two-week long survey. Our key findings include that participants felt concerned not only with the content (text messages) from their sensitive apps but also with the appearance of the app from its UI. At last, we explore and discuss the design of IMception and highlight its important design considerations.