Sharing motion information with close family and friends

Abstract

We present the Motion Presence application, an augmented phone book style application that allows close friends and family to view each other's current motion status ("moving" or "not moving") on their mobile phones. We performed a two week long field trial with 10 participants to observe usage and investigate any privacy concerns that might arise. We found that our participants used the motion information to infer location and activity as well as to plan communication, to help in coordinating in-person get-togethers, and to stay connected to patterns in each others' lives. Participants saw the motion data as mostly confirming their existing thoughts about the locations and activities of others and expressed few privacy concerns. In fact, they frequently asked for more information to be shared to make the application more compelling.