Researchers at U.C. Berkeley have discovered that users of augmented and virtual realities are unknowingly sharing more information than previously known through their motion data. In two recent studies led by the university, it was found that individuals can be easily identified based on just a few minutes of their head and hand movements. This collected data can then be used to infer various characteristics such as age and disability status. Vivek Nair, the lead author of the studies and a Ph.D. student at Berkeley’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, highlighted the significance of this revelation, stating that users are revealing more information than they realize and that there is little they can do to prevent it, making it a significant threat.
The research was conducted as part of U.C. Berkeley’s Center for Responsible, Decentralized Intelligence and its Metaverse security and privacy research effort. One study utilized a dataset more than 100 times larger than previous studies and analyzed data from over 50,000 virtual reality gamers playing Beat Saber. The researchers demonstrated that body movements can serve as unique identifiers comparable to fingerprints. By training a machine learning model on just 5 minutes of motion data, the model could accurately identify the user within 10 to 100 seconds with high accuracy.
The second paper involved an adversarial virtual reality game designed to collect as much data as possible from 50 participants within 10 to 20 minutes. As a result, the researchers were able to accurately identify or infer more than 25 characteristics, including location, age, and height. While the study did not delve into personal indicators like sexual or political preferences due to ethical considerations, the researchers believe it may be possible to infer such information as well.
The next focus for Nair and his team is to develop defensive technologies to protect users’ privacy. There are concerns about the potential misuse of this data by malicious actors for identity theft or information exposure. Transforming the data or controlling access to it will be the primary areas of research moving forward.
It should be noted that these privacy and security risks primarily affect gamers. U.C. Berkeley reports that nearly 10 million virtual reality headsets were purchased last year. In the studies, almost half of the participants used Meta Platforms Inc.’s Quest 2, along with the Valve Index and other headsets. However, Meta has not yet responded to requests for comment.
In conclusion, this research sheds light on the significant privacy risks associated with augmented and virtual realities. The unintentional sharing of personal information through motion data poses a unique challenge that demands attention and technological solutions to safeguard users’ privacy.
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