Florian Schaub, an assistant professor in the School of Information, is the co-author of the book Privacy in Mobile and Pervasive Computing, which has just been released. Schaub and his co-author dissect and discuss the privacy implications of mobile and pervasive computing technology. They not only look at how technology affects our expectations of (and ability to enjoy) privacy, but they also look at what constitutes “privacy” in the first place, and why we should care about maintaining it. 

The vast majority of the data being collected about us by corporations and government is likely to benefit us greatly, say the authors. It can make our lives more convenient, efficient, and safer through custom-tailored and context-aware services that anticipate what we need, where we need it, and when we need it. But, they warn, beneath all this convenience, efficiency, and safety lurks the risk of losing control and awareness of what is known about us in the many different contexts of our live