Below are selected publications. Please check my Google Scholar, DBLP, or CV for a full list of publications.

Conferences are the top-tier academic publishing venues in computer science and information science (CS/IS). Thus, the majority of my research is published in CS/IS conference proceedings.

* shared first authorship.

2025

  • Beyond “Vulnerable Populations”: A Unified Understanding of Vulnerability From A Socio-Ecological Perspective
    Xinru Tang, Gabriel Lima, Li Jiang, Lucy Simko, Yixin Zou
    To appear in Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW)

  • Misalignments and Demographic Differences in Expected and Actual Privacy Settings on Facebook
    Byron Lowens, Sean Scarnecchia, Jane Im, Tanisha Afnan, Annie Chen, Yixin Zou, Florian Schaub
    To appear in Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PoPETs)

  • “What are they gonna do with my data?”: Privacy Expectations, Concerns, and Behaviors in Virtual Reality
    Abhinaya S.B., Abhishri Agrawal, Yaxing Yao, Yixin Zou, Anupam Das
    To appear in Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PoPETs)

2024

  • Encouraging Users to Change Breached Passwords Using the Protection Motivation Theory
    Yixin Zou, Khue Le, Peter Mayer, Alessandro Acquisti, Adam Aviv, Florian Schaub
    ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI), to appear
    preprint
    slides

  • Unfulfilled Promises of Child Safety and Privacy: Portrayals and Use of Children in Smart Home Marketing
    Kaiwen Sun, Jingjie Li, Yixin Zou, Jenny Radesky, Christopher Brooks, Florian Schaub
    Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction 8(CSCW1), 145:1–145:29
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  • Cross-Contextual Examination of Older Adults' Privacy Concerns, Behaviors, and Vulnerabilities
    Yixin Zou, Kaiwen Sun, Tanisha Afnan, Ruba Abu-Salma, Robin Brewer, Florian Schaub
    Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PoPETs), 2024(1), 133–150
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  • Explainability as a Requirement for Hardware: Introducing Explainable Hardware (XHW)
    Timo Speith, Julian Speith, Steffen Becker, Yixin Zou, Asia Biega, Christof Paar
    IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference (RE), RE@Next! track, 354–362
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  • Digital Security — A Question of Perspective. A Large-Scale Telephone Survey with Four At-Risk User Groups
    Franziska Herbert, Steffen Becker, Annalina Buckmann, Marvin Kowalewski, Jonas Hielscher, Yasemin Acar, Markus Dürmuth, Yixin Zou, Angela Sasse
    IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (Oakland), 27:1–27:19
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2023

  • Awareness, Intention, (In)Action: Individuals' Reactions to Data Breaches
    Peter Mayer, Yixin Zou, Byron Lowens, Hunter Dyer, Khue Le, Florian Schaub, Adam Aviv
    ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI), 30(5), 77:1–77:53
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2022

  • Understanding and Improving Consumers' Adoption of Online Privacy-Protective Behaviors
    ACM SIGCHI Outstanding Dissertation Award
    Yixin Zou
    PhD Dissertation, University of Michigan School of Information
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    press
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  • Aunties, Strangers, and the FBI: Online Privacy Concerns and Experiences of Muslim-American Women
    Tanisha Afnan, Yixin Zou, Maryam Mustafa, Mustafa Naseem, Florian Schaub
    Symposium On Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS), 387–406
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  • Trauma-Informed Computing: Towards Safer Technology Experiences for All
    Janet Chen*, Allison McDonald*, Yixin Zou*, Emily Tseng, Kevin Roundy, Acar Tamersoy, Florian Schaub, Thomas Ristenpart, Nicola Dell
    ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), 544:1–544:20
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2021

  • Child Safety in the Smart Home: Parents' Perceptions, Needs, and Mitigation Strategies
    Kaiwen Sun, Yixin Zou, Jenny Radesky, Christopher Brooks, Florian Schaub
    Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 5(CSCW2), 471:1–471:41
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  • The Role of Computer Security Customer Support in Helping Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence
    Yixin Zou, Allison McDonald, Julia Narakornpichit, Nicola Dell, Thomas Ristenpart, Kevin Roundy, Florian Schaub, Acar Tamersoy
    USENIX Security Symposium, 429–446
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  • "Now I'm a bit angry:" Individuals' Awareness, Perception, and Responses to Data Breaches that Affected Them
    Peter Mayer*, Yixin Zou*, Florian Schaub, Adam Aviv
    USENIX Security Symposium, 393–410
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  • Toggles, Dollar Signs, and Triangles: How to (In)Effectively Convey Privacy Choices with Icons and Link Texts
    Hana Habib*, Yixin Zou*, Yaxing Yao, Alessandro Acquisti, Lorrie Faith Cranor, Joel Reidenberg, Norman Sadeh, Florian Schaub
    ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), 63:1–63:25
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2020

  • Examining the Adoption and Abandonment of Security, Privacy, and Identity Theft Protection Practices
    Best Paper Honorable Mention
    Yixin Zou, Kevin Roundy, Acar Tamersoy, Saurabh Shintre, Johann Roturier, Florian Schaub
    ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), 443:1–443:15
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  • "It's a scavenger hunt": Usability of Websites' Opt-Out and Data Deletion Choices
    Hana Habib, Sarah Pearman, Jiamin Wang, Yixin Zou, Alessandro Acquisti, Lorrie Faith Cranor, Norman Sadeh, Florian Schaub
    ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), 384:1–384:12
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  • Listen Only When Spoken To: Interpersonal Communication Cues as Smart Speaker Privacy Controls
    Abraham H. Mhaidli, Manikandan Venkatesh, Yixin Zou, Florian Schaub
    Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PoPETs), 2020(2), 251-270
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2019

  • "We Can't Live Without Them!" App Developers' Adoption of Ad Networks and Their Considerations of Consumer Risks
    Abraham H. Mhaidli, Yixin Zou, Florian Schaub
    Symposium On Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS), 225–244
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  • An Empirical Analysis of Data Deletion and Opt-Out Choices on 150 Websites
    Hana Habib, Yixin Zou, Aditi Jannu, Neha Sridhar, Chelse Swoopes, Alessandro Acquisti, Lorrie Faith Cranor, Norman Sadeh, Florian Schaub
    Symposium On Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS), 387–406
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  • You 'Might' Be Affected: An Empirical Analysis of Readability and Usability Issues in Data Breach Notifications
    Yixin Zou, Shawn Danino, Kaiwen Sun, Florian Schaub
    ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), 194:1–194:14
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  • Put Your Warning Where Your Link Is: Improving and Evaluating Email Phishing Warnings
    Best Paper Honorable Mention
    Justin Petelka, Yixin Zou, Florian Schaub
    ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), 518:1–518:15
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  • Beyond Mandatory: Making Data Breach Notifications Useful for Consumers
    Yixin Zou, Florian Schaub
    IEEE Security & Privacy Magazine, 17(2), 67-72
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2018

  • "I've Got Nothing to Lose": Consumers' Risk Perceptions and Protective Actions after the Equifax Data Breach
    Distinguished Paper Award
    Yixin Zou, Abraham H. Mhaidli, Austin McCall, Florian Schaub
    Symposium On Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS), 197–216
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