Empowering Young Canadians in the Smart Device Era

A Privacy-by-Design Research and Public Engagement Initiative

This project is proudly funded by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada's (OPC) Contributions Program .

More Info

About

The overarching goal of this project is to empower youth (ages 16-24) with the knowledge and tools needed to safeguard their personal data in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, particularly in voice-activated AI apps. By emphasizing privacy-by-design principles and public engagement, we seek to foster an environment where responsible, privacy-centric AI practices become the norm. To achieve this goal, we have established the following research questions:

Research Questions

  • 🐾Youth concerns around data collection and usage in voice-activated AI (e.g., Siri, Alexa).
  • 🐾Influence of privacy risk, benefit perception, and transparency on trust and adoption.
  • 🐾Current privacy controls used by youth and their impact on self-efficacy and protective behavior.
  • 🐾Youth-suggested solutions (technical, policy, educational) to address privacy gaps and improve user control.
Project

Project

As part of our research on youth interactions with voice-enabled technologies, we're conducting a national survey, online focus groups, and a stakeholder roundtable. These research activities are designed to gather insights directly from young people and refine our recommendations through expert feedback from educators, developers, and policymakers.

Survey (Closed)

The survey phase has concluded. Thank you everyone who contributed their valuable input! The link remains available to view the questions, but submissions are no longer accepted.

Focus Group (Completed)

We facilitated peer discussions through focus groups with Canadian youths. If you're interested in learning more about the outcomes, follow our updates or connect with us.

Round-Table (Completed)

On March 3, 2026, we held a roundtable with parents, educators, policymakers, and AI developers to refine youth-centered privacy recommendations. View the Roundtable Instrument and the Roundtable Findings, Feedback Analysis, and Evidence-Based Revisions , or connect with us to learn more.

Youth Engagement Activities

Engaging youth to shape the future of voice-enabled AI systems—ethically and inclusively.

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Live Session
Insight
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Digital Event
Awareness
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Let's Connect
Community
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Webinar Recap
Highlight 2025
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Seminar Recap
Highlight 2025
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Privacy Videos
Knowledge

Press & Media

Public conversations inspired by our research.

Project Team

One line of code, one conversation, one safeguard at a time.

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Dr. Ajay Shrestha

Principal Investigator
Vancouver Island University

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Molly Campbell

Project Personnel
Vancouver Island University

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Yulia Bobkova

Research Assistant
Vancouver Island University

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Mohamad Jasem

Research Assistant
Vancouver Island University

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Trevor DeClark

Research Assistant
Vancouver Island University

Our team brings together researchers, designers, and youth collaborators committed to advancing ethical, privacy-conscious AI. With diverse expertise across technology, education, and policy, we work together to ensure that young people's voices are not only heard—but actively shape the future of voice-enabled systems.

Publication

Here are some of our latest publications from this project. Click on the links to read more.

Empowering Young Canadians in the Smart Device Era: A Privacy-by-Design Research and Public Engagement Initiative

Author: Ajay Shrestha

Published: Final OPC Report

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Covert Surveillance in Smart Devices: A SCOUR Framework Analysis of Youth Privacy Implications

Authors: Austin Shouli*, Yulia Bobkova*, Ajay Shrestha

Published: IEEE DOI: 10.1109/UEMCON67449.2025.11267573

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Toward Youth-Centered Privacy-by-Design in Smart Devices: A Systematic Review

Authors: Molly Campbell*, Mohamad AlJasem*, Ajay Shrestha

Published: IEEE DOI: 10.1109/CCWC67433.2026.11393846

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Balancing Usability and Compliance in AI Smart Devices: A Privacy-by-Design Audit of Google Home, Alexa, and Siri

Authors: Trevor DeClark*, Yulia Bobkova*, Ajay Shrestha

Published: IEEE DOI: 10.1109/CCWC67433.2026.11393731

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Convenience vs. Control: A Qualitative Study of Youth Privacy with Smart Voice Assistants

Authors: Molly Campbell*, Mohamad AlJasem*, Sandhya Joshi, Ajay Shrestha

Published: IEEE DOI: 10.1109/CCWC67433.2026.11393734

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Age-Differentiated Pathways to Privacy Protection in Smart Voice Assistants: A Multigroup PLS-SEM Study of Youth

Authors: Yulia Bobkova*, Molly Campbell*, Ajay Shrestha

Published: IEEE DOI: 10.1109/ICAIC67076.2026.11395739

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Privacy by Voice: Modeling Youth Privacy-Protective Behavior in Smart Voice Assistants

Authors: Molly Campbell*, Ajay Shrestha

Published: IEEE ("in press")

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Gender-Based Heterogeneity in Youth Privacy-Protective Behavior for Smart Voice Assistants: Evidence from Multigroup PLS-SEM

Authors: Ajay Shrestha

Published: IEEE ("accepted")

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Privacy profiles of youth smart voice assistant users: A cluster analysis of risk, benefits, trust, and behavior

Authors: Ajay Shrestha

Published: ("draft")

Available Soon

Negotiating privacy with smart voice assistants: Risk-benefit and control-acceptance

Authors: Ajay Shrestha

Published: ("in review")

Available Soon

From framework to practice: Youth negotiations of privacy with smart voice assistants through the PEA-AI lens

Authors: Molly Campbell*, Yulia Bobkova*, Ajay Shrestha

Published: ("JCR: in review")

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Privacy-by-Design Toolkit v0.1 (DRAFT)

Authors: Ajay Shrestha

"Draft" v0.1"

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Privacy-by-Design Toolkit v1.0: Youth-Centred Guidelines for Smart Voice Assistants and Voice-Enabled Smart Devices

Authors: Ajay Shrestha

Published: ("Final Version v1.0")

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