Auditable Augmented/Mixed/Virtual Reality: The Practicalities of Mobile System Transparency

Abstract

Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality (XR) technologies are becoming increasingly pervasive. However, the contextual nature of XR, and its tight coupling of the digital and physical environments, brings real propensity for loss and harm. This means that auditability-the ability to inspect how a system operates-will be crucial for dealing with incidents as they occur, by providing the information enabling rectification, repair and recourse. However, supporting audit in XR brings considerations, as the process of capturing audit data itself has implications and challenges, both for the application (e.g., overheads) and more broadly. This paper explores the practicalities of auditing XR systems, characterises the tensions between audit and other considerations, and argues the need for flexible tools enabling the management of such. In doing so, we introduce Droiditor, a configurable open-source Android toolkit that enables the runtime capture of audit-relevant data from mobile applications.We use Droiditor as a means to indicate some potential implications of audit data capture, demonstrate how greater configurability can assist in managing audit-related concerns, and discuss the potential considerations that result. Given the societal demands for more transparent and accountable systems, our broader aim is to draw attention to auditability, highlighting tangible ways forward and areas for future work.