I am a tenure-track faculty member at CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security, which is part of the Helmholtz Association. Previously, I did my Ph.D. at the University of Michigan School of Information and Department of Computer Science & Engineering. My advisor was the incomparable Kentaro Toyama.

I lead the Real-world Interactions and Systems for Change (RISC) Group, where we develop digital systems that give users more agency over their online interpersonal interactions and data. Currently, we focus on designing and building social media and AI systems that center the consent of users—who often hold less power than system creators. Consent is fundamentally about ensuring individuals—especially those who tend to be vulnerable—have full agency to decide whether and how an interaction should occur. I research these topics because I believe they are important for creating positive social change (hence, my group name).

My interest in consent and agency also extends to the complexities of power imbalances, which I find important to study to understand social change. For example, I've built a platform to help PhD students navigate power dynamics in advising relationships.

I started off as a Human-Computer Interaction researcher, but I'm pleasantly surprised that I am now also welcomed by security and privacy communities.

Selected Full Papers

"I know even if you don't tell me": Understanding Users' Privacy Preferences Regarding AI-based Inferences of Sensitive Information for Personalization
Sumit Asthana, Jane Im, Zhe Chen, Nikola Banovic
CHI 2024

pdf

Less is Not More: Improving Findability and Actionability of Privacy Controls for Online Behavioral Advertising
Jane Im, Ruiyi Wang, Weikun Lyu, Nick Cook, Hana Habib, Lorrie Cranor, Nikola Banovic, Florian Schaub
CHI 2023

Covered by The Wall Street Journal (The article is behind a paywall, but UMSI also wrote about it here.)
Invited by FTC to present to policymakers at PrivacyCon 2024

pdf - blog post - CHI slides - talk

Yes: Affirmative Consent as a Theoretical Framework for Understanding and Imagining Social Platforms
Jane Im, Jill Dimond, Melody Berton, Una Lee, Katherine Mustelier, Mark Ackerman, Eric Gilbert
CHI 2021

Best Paper Honorable Mention

I want to give a shoutout to the incredible Una Lee. This work builds on and could not have existed without Una's impactful work on consentful technologies. Una introduced the term "consentful technology"—which inspired many people, including me.

pdf - project website: consentful.systems - CHI slides - talk

See all publications/projects