Post-mortem data privacy: Understanding individual perspectives, behaviours and expectations in context to support appropriate data interactions

<p dir="ltr"><i>In recent years, digital technologies have driven the rise of data as an important and lucrative commodity. Simultaneously, they have transformed the nature of ownership, with digital forms of documents, media and currencies developing new and different properties to their traditional counterparts. As issues of data privacy and misuse come to the forefront of public awareness, there remains a lack of clarity about the appropriate access and usage of personal data after the death of the data subject, nor how to resolve issues of inheritance, remembrance and duty without engaging in intrusive, uncomfortable or contentious behaviours. This thesis explores post-mortem data privacy values as understood and experienced by others, aiming to contribute to the design of legacy functionalities that support the simple expression and execution of intent regarding the future of one’s personal data and information after death. I report on mixed-methods research exploring the contextuality of positions on post-mortem data access, the individuality of views and experiences that contribute to those positions, and some of the existing barriers to engaging practically with digital legacy planning.</i></p><p dir="ltr"><i>My research contributes to understandings of digital legacy in Human-Computer Interaction by providing quantitative evidence of the interactions between different contextual variables on post-mortem data access appropriateness, alongside in-depth qualitative analysis of perspectives and the illumination of lived experiences. In the terms of Contextual Integrity privacy theory, I present the death of the data subject as having a transformative effect on the contextual elements that make up any given flow of data, arguing that evaluations of post-mortem data access appropriateness depend on individual, subjective and relational factors that resist the formation of broader social norms. I offer a number of design challenges and recommendations for information systems that focus on improved means of collaboration, negotiation and communication between different stakeholders in an individual’s death.</i></p>