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Much has been written about privacy in the context of conversational and voice assistants. Yet, there have been remarkably few developments in terms of the actual privacy offered by these devices. But how much of this is due to the…
The area of software development and secure coding can benefit significantly from advancements in virtual assistants. Research has shown that many coders neglect security in favor of meeting deadlines. This shortcoming leaves systems…
Voice-controlled smart speaker devices have gained a foothold in many modern households. Their prevalence combined with their intrusion into core private spheres of life has motivated research on security and privacy intrusions, especially…
Voice assistants offer a convenient and hands-free way of accessing computing in the home, but a key problem with speech as an interaction modality is how to scaffold accurate mental models of voice assistants, a task complicated by privacy…
Following the recent release of AI assistants, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot, the software industry quickly utilized these tools for software development tasks, e.g., generating code or consulting AI for advice. While recent…
The increasing reach and functionality of voice assistants has allowed them to become a general-purpose platform for tasks like playing music, accessing information, and controlling smart home devices. In order to maintain the quality of…
Since Siri's release in 2011 there have been a growing number of AI-driven domestic voice assistants that are increasingly being integrated into devices such as smartphones and TVs. But as their presence has expanded, a range of ethical…
Voice Personal Assistants (VPA) have become a common household appliance. As one of the leading platforms for VPA technology, Amazon created Alexa and designed Amazon Kids for children to safely enjoy the rich functionalities of VPA and for…
As mobile applications (apps) become ubiquitous in everyday life, it is crucial for developers to prioritize accessibility for users with diverse abilities. While previous research has identified widespread accessibility issues and raised…
Since being launched in 2014, Alexa, Amazon's versatile cloud-based voice service, is now active in over 100 million households worldwide. Alexa's user-friendly, personalized vocal experience offers customers a more natural way of…
Despite huge gains in performance in natural language understanding via large language models in recent years, voice assistants still often fail to meet user expectations. In this study, we conducted a mixed-methods analysis of how voice…
Due to the open nature of voice input, voice assistant (VA) systems (e.g., Google Home and Amazon Alexa) are under a high risk of sensitive information leakage (e.g., personal schedules and shopping accounts). Though the existing VA systems…
The radical advances in telecommunications and computer science have enabled a myriad of applications and novel seamless interaction with computing interfaces. Voice Assistants (VAs) have become a norm for smartphones, and millions of VAs…
The ability to identify the author responsible for a given software object is critical for many research studies and for enhancing software transparency and accountability. However, as opposed to other application markets like iOS,…
Home Digital Voice Assistants (HDVAs) are getting popular in recent years. Users can control smart devices and get living assistance through those HDVAs (e.g., Amazon Alexa, Google Home) using voice. In this work, we study the insecurity of…
AI assistants such as Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri, are making their way into the healthcare sector, offering a convenient way for users to access different healthcare services. Trust is a vital factor in the uptake of healthcare…
While the literature on permissions from the end-user perspective is rich, there is a lack of empirical research on why developers request permissions, their conceptualization of permissions, and how their perspectives compare with…
Today, intelligent voice assistant (VA) software like Amazon's Alexa, Google's Voice Assistant (GVA) and Apple's Siri have millions of users. These VAs often collect and analyze huge user data for improving their functionality. However,…
The Amazon Alexa marketplace is the largest Voice Personal Assistant (VPA) platform with over 100,000 voice applications (i.e., skills) published to the skills store. In an effort to maintain the quality and trustworthiness of voice-apps,…
Application markets provide a communication channel between app developers and their end-users in form of app reviews, which allow users to provide feedback about the apps. Although security and privacy in mobile apps are one of the biggest…