"Before, I Asked My Mom, Now I Ask ChatGPT": Visual Privacy Management with Generative AI for Blind and Low-Vision People

  • Tanusree Sharma
  • , Yu Yun Tseng
  • , Lotus Zhang
  • , Ayae Ide
  • , Kelly Avery Mack
  • , Leah Findlater
  • , Danna Gurari
  • , Yang Wang

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Blind and low vision (BLV) individuals use Generative AI (GenAI) tools to interpret and manage visual content in their daily lives. While such tools can enhance the accessibility of visual content and enable greater user independence, they also introduce complex challenges around visual privacy. In this paper, we investigate the current practices and future design preferences of blind and low vision individuals through an interview study with 21 participants. Our findings reveal a range of current practices with GenAI that balance privacy, efficiency, and emotional agency, with users accounting for privacy risks across six key scenarios: self-presentation, indoor spatial privacy, outdoor spatial privacy, social media sharing, sharing with employer or professional setup, and handling professional content as employers. Our findings reveal design preferences, including on-device processing, zero-retention guarantees, sensitive content redaction, privacy-aware appearance indicators, and multimodal tactile mirrored interaction methods. We conclude with actionable design recommendations to support user-centered visual privacy through GenAI, expanding the notion of privacy and responsible handling of others' information.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationASSETS 2025 - Proceedings of the 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility
EditorsKristen Shinohara, Cynthia L. Bennett, Martez Mott, Shaun K. Kane
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
ISBN (Electronic)9798400706769
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 22 2025
Event27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, ASSETS 2025 - Denver, United States
Duration: Oct 26 2025Oct 29 2025

Publication series

NameASSETS 2025 - Proceedings of the 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

Conference

Conference27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, ASSETS 2025
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityDenver
Period10/26/2510/29/25

Keywords

  • Generative AI
  • Privacy
  • Visual Interpretation Services

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software
  • Hardware and Architecture
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design
  • Computer Networks and Communications

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