We present an interview study of 34 participants in the US and Korea who described how they manage their personal data, from work files to family photos. Through their “data narratives” – accounts of their data management practices, including device usage patterns and negotiations with system and brand ecosystems – we explore how individuals negotiate a complex, multi-service, and morally-charged sociotechnical landscape, balancing demands to share and to safeguard their data in appropriate ways against a shifting background of changing technologies, relationships, individuals, and corporations. We describe the guiding framework that people use to make decisions as a “moral economy” of data management, contributing to our understanding of context-specific system choices. Author Keywords Data management; privacy; data sharing; data narratives. ACM Classification Keywords H.5.m. Miscellaneous
Janet Vertesi, Jofish Kaye, Samantha N. Jarosewski