Privacy in the Metaverse might be Impossible (new research study)

A new paper from the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">University of California Berkeley</a> reveals that privacy may be impossible in the metaverse without innovative new safeguards to protect users. Led by graduate researcher Vivek Nair, the <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.08927" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">recently released study</a> was conducted at the <a href="https://rdi.berkeley.edu/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Center on Responsible Decentralized Intelligence</a> (RDI) and involved the largest dataset of user interactions in virtual reality that has ever been analyzed for privacy risks. What makes the results so surprising is how little data is needed to uniquely identify users , potentially eliminating any chance of anonymity in virtual worlds. As background, most researchers and policymakers who study <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363190709_The_Growing_Need_for_Metaverse_Regulation" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">metaverse privacy</a>, focus on the many cameras and microphones in modern VR headsets that capture detailed information about the user’s facial features, vocal qualities and eye motions, along with ambient information about the user’s home or office. Some researchers even worry about emerging technologies like EEG sensors that can detect unique brain activity through the scalp. While these rich data-streams pose <a href="https://venturebeat.com/virtual/going-incognito-how-we-can-protect-our-privacy-in-the-metaverse/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">serious privacy risks</a> in the metaverse, turning them all off may not provide anonymity. That’s because the most basic data-stream needed to interact with a virtual world, simple motion data, may be all that’s required to uniquely identify a user within a large population. And by “simple motion data,” I mean the three most basic data-points tracked by virtual reality systems — one point on the user’s head and one on each hand. Researchers often refer to this as “telemetry data” and it represents the minimal dataset required to allow a user to interact naturally in a virtual environment. <a href="https://medium.com/predict/privacy-in-the-metaverse-might-be-impossible-new-research-study-64935481c6de">Learn More</a>