It's Privacy Awareness Week, so we're peeling back the layers on one of the most common concepts used to raise awareness about privacy: the creepy test.

It's that sense of "ew!" we sometimes feel when we encounter technologies or business practices that step over the bounds of responsible use of our personal information.

This week, we break down the concept of the creepy test and evaluate its usefulness.

Links:

"A Theory of Creepy" (Paper by Tene and Polonetsky) https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2326830

Criticisms about the creepy test (Slate) https://slate.com/technology/2021/12/why-privacy-matters-excerpt-creepiness.html

Article about Target predicting a teenager was pregnant (NYTimes) https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html

Privacy Awareness Week (OAIC) https://www.oaic.gov.au/engage-with-us/events/privacy-awareness-week
Credits:

Music by Bensound.com