SPUD Lab
Security, Privacy, Usability and Design | Led by Sauvik Das
How might we build systems that empower people with greater agency over their personal data?
We tackle this critical question in today's digital world. Our interdisciplinary approach combines Human-Computer Interaction, Security and Privacy, and Applied AI to create solutions that encourage better security behaviors.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15217
We focus on three key areas
- Resonate with human motivations
- Hold data harvesters accountable
- Balance utility with privacy
Read more about our mission
We focus on three key areas: designing systems that resonate with human motivations, holding data harvesters accountable, and helping practitioners balance utility with privacy. As computing encompasses more of our lives, our goal is to empower end-users with novel security and privacy systems that connect core human drives with desired security outcomes. We create systems that mitigate pain, social rejection, and fear while enhancing feelings of hope, social acceptance, and pleasure. Ultimately, the SPUD Lab aims to design user-friendly systems that make better security and privacy behaviors not just possible, but natural and rewarding.
featured projects
see all projectsPrivy
🏆 Best Paper Honorable MentionPrivy: Envisioning and Mitigating Privacy Risks for Consumer-facing AI Product Concepts
ACM Conference on Human Factors In Computing Systems (CHI)
see projectAI Privacy Taxonomy
🏆 Best PaperDeepfakes, Phrenology, Surveillance, and More! A Taxonomy of AI Privacy Risks
ACM Conference on Human Factors In Computing Systems (CHI)
see projectnews
see all news| Mar 25, 2026 | Hank won a best paper honorable mention for his work accepted to CHI 2026! |
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| Aug 15, 2024 | Hank won a distinguished paper award @ USENIX Security! |
| Jul 12, 2024 | Congrats to Isadora Krsek for her accepted CHI PLAY game competition submission on CALYPSO. |
| May 20, 2024 | Hank and Sauvik attended ACM CHI in Hawaii. |
| May 17, 2024 | Congrats to Isadora Krsek! “Reducing Privacy Risks in Online Self-Disclosure” was accepted to ACL 2024! |
selected publications
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