Privacy in Repair: Challenges around the Broken Digital Objects in Bangladesh

This paper presents our study on the privacy issues associated with the practice of repairing broken digital objects in the context of a developing country. Historically, the studies in Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICTD), Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and related disciplines have focused on the design, development, and use of technologies. This has made repair a neglected topic in these disciplines. However, some very recent studies have shown that repair constitutes an important feature of technical practices in many developing countries [2, 9, 12, 15]. Such studies have pointed out the importance of improving tools, techniques, knowledge, and practices around repairing, and the development through technology. Our paper responds to this call of ICTD. To improve the practices around repair in developing countries, we have concentrate on the privacy aspect of repairing in this paper. Based on our ethnography at 10 different repair markets in Dhaka, Bangladesh, we reveal a picture of vulnerable privacy in repairing practices there. Furthermore, our survey and interviews depict the user perceptions around privacy in repair and its connections with broader social and cultural values.