I am a tenure-track faculty member at the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security, which is part of the Helmholtz Association, where I lead the Real-world Interactions and Systems for Change (RISC) Group. I obtained my Ph.D. from both the University of Michigan School of Information and Department of Computer Science & Engineering. My advisor was the incomparable Kentaro Toyama.

I am a Human-Computer Interaction and privacy researcher. I develop computational systems and theoretical frameworks that operationalize consent in contexts of asymmetric power, particularly in social media and AI. 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. My work produces deployable system designs, design frameworks, and empirical evidence that inform how platforms and AI systems can be built and evaluated while centering users' consent and agency. I research these topics because I believe they are important for creating positive social change (hence, my group name).

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

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