---
_id: '66638'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Smart cities promise safer streets, smoother traffic, and more efficient services,
    enabled by dense networks of urban sensors. Yet this infrastructure, often unnoticed
    by citizens, introduces pervasive privacy risks, from tracking, profiling, and
    sensitive inferences to subtle forms of self-censorship. Despite widespread deployment,
    little is known about how the public understands and perceives these sensing systems.
    To address this gap, we present an intervention based user study (n = 172) in
    which participants are exposed to data collection by six urban sensors, including
    cameras and alternative technologies commonly framed as privacy-preserving. Participants
    encounter either the sensors alone or sensors accompanied by real-time data visualizations.
    Our results reveal widespread misunderstanding of some sensors (radar, LiDAR,
    Wi-Fi, depth, and thermal imaging sensors), particularly their capacity for identification
    and for attribute inferences such as gender or age. We also identify persistent
    misconceptions, including the belief that Wi-Fi poses privacy risks only when
    users connect to public networks. While making sensors visible and visualizing
    collected data improves privacy awareness, these measures alone are not enough
    for citizens to understand the actual risks of urban sensing. We derive recommendations
    for privacy-respecting smart city environments grounded in citizens’ informational
    needs and expectations.
author:
- first_name: Julian
  full_name: Todt, Julian
  last_name: Todt
- first_name: Emiram
  full_name: Kablo, Emiram
  id: '46433'
  last_name: Kablo
- first_name: Felix
  full_name: Morsbach, Felix
  last_name: Morsbach
- first_name: Patricia
  full_name: Arias Cabarcos, Patricia
  id: '92804'
  last_name: Arias Cabarcos
- first_name: Thorsten
  full_name: Strufe, Thorsten
  last_name: Strufe
citation:
  ama: 'Todt J, Kablo E, Morsbach F, Arias Cabarcos P, Strufe T. “The city isn’t uploading
    me to TikTok”: Exploring Privacy Attitudes towards Data Collection in Urban Public
    Spaces. <i>Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies</i>. 2026;2026(4):7-35.
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.56553/popets-2026-0108">10.56553/popets-2026-0108</a>'
  apa: 'Todt, J., Kablo, E., Morsbach, F., Arias Cabarcos, P., &#38; Strufe, T. (2026).
    “The city isn’t uploading me to TikTok”: Exploring Privacy Attitudes towards Data
    Collection in Urban Public Spaces. <i>Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies</i>,
    <i>2026</i>(4), 7–35. <a href="https://doi.org/10.56553/popets-2026-0108">https://doi.org/10.56553/popets-2026-0108</a>'
  bibtex: '@article{Todt_Kablo_Morsbach_Arias Cabarcos_Strufe_2026, title={“The city
    isn’t uploading me to TikTok”: Exploring Privacy Attitudes towards Data Collection
    in Urban Public Spaces}, volume={2026}, DOI={<a href="https://doi.org/10.56553/popets-2026-0108">10.56553/popets-2026-0108</a>},
    number={4}, journal={Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies}, publisher={Privacy
    Enhancing Technologies Symposium Advisory Board}, author={Todt, Julian and Kablo,
    Emiram and Morsbach, Felix and Arias Cabarcos, Patricia and Strufe, Thorsten},
    year={2026}, pages={7–35} }'
  chicago: 'Todt, Julian, Emiram Kablo, Felix Morsbach, Patricia Arias Cabarcos, and
    Thorsten Strufe. “‘The City Isn’t Uploading Me to TikTok’: Exploring Privacy Attitudes
    towards Data Collection in Urban Public Spaces.” <i>Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing
    Technologies</i> 2026, no. 4 (2026): 7–35. <a href="https://doi.org/10.56553/popets-2026-0108">https://doi.org/10.56553/popets-2026-0108</a>.'
  ieee: 'J. Todt, E. Kablo, F. Morsbach, P. Arias Cabarcos, and T. Strufe, “‘The city
    isn’t uploading me to TikTok’: Exploring Privacy Attitudes towards Data Collection
    in Urban Public Spaces,” <i>Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies</i>,
    vol. 2026, no. 4, pp. 7–35, 2026, doi: <a href="https://doi.org/10.56553/popets-2026-0108">10.56553/popets-2026-0108</a>.'
  mla: 'Todt, Julian, et al. “‘The City Isn’t Uploading Me to TikTok’: Exploring Privacy
    Attitudes towards Data Collection in Urban Public Spaces.” <i>Proceedings on Privacy
    Enhancing Technologies</i>, vol. 2026, no. 4, Privacy Enhancing Technologies Symposium
    Advisory Board, 2026, pp. 7–35, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.56553/popets-2026-0108">10.56553/popets-2026-0108</a>.'
  short: J. Todt, E. Kablo, F. Morsbach, P. Arias Cabarcos, T. Strufe, Proceedings
    on Privacy Enhancing Technologies 2026 (2026) 7–35.
date_created: 2026-08-03T10:46:58Z
date_updated: 2026-08-03T10:49:58Z
department:
- _id: '679'
doi: 10.56553/popets-2026-0108
intvolume: '      2026'
issue: '4'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://petsymposium.org/popets/2026/popets-2026-0108.php
oa: '1'
page: 7-35
publication: Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - 2299-0984
publication_status: published
publisher: Privacy Enhancing Technologies Symposium Advisory Board
status: public
title: '“The city isn’t uploading me to TikTok”: Exploring Privacy Attitudes towards
  Data Collection in Urban Public Spaces'
type: journal_article
user_id: '46433'
volume: 2026
year: '2026'
...