LifeSnaps, a 4-month multi-modal dataset capturing unobtrusive snapshots of our lives in the wild.

Ubiquitous self-tracking technologies have penetrated various aspects of our lives, from physical and mental health monitoring to fitness and entertainment. Yet, limited data exist on the association between in the wild large-scale physical activity patterns, sleep, stress, and overall health, and behavioral and psychological patterns due to challenges in collecting and releasing such datasets, including waning user engagement or privacy considerations. In this paper, we present the LifeSnaps dataset, a multi-modal, longitudinal, and geographically-distributed dataset containing a plethora of anthropological data, collected unobtrusively for the total course of more than 4 months by n = 71 participants.

How to Publish Wearables' Data: Practical Guidelines to Protect User Privacy.

The spread of wearable fitness trackers has contributed to the increase of various fitness studies, utilizing such devices to collect data from a group of users. When these data are disclosed, the lack of sanitization can lead to severe privacy risks. In this paper, we discuss the various threats that are posed by disclosing unaltered information from wearable devices.

Do You Know Who Is Talking to Your Wearable Smartband?

We study seven fitness trackers and their associated smartphone apps from a wide variety of manufacturers, and record who they are talking to. Our results suggest that some of them communicate with unexpected third parties, including social networks, advertisement websites, weather services, and various external APIs. This implies that such unanticipated third-parties may glean personal information of users.