Perspectives

An ongoing series of essays examining discretion, signaling, and interaction design in shared environments.

Public-facing institutions rely on policies to protect privacy, yet much of discretion is achieved not through regulation alone, but through interactional coordination. These essays explore how visible cues, environmental signals, and shared norms shape the way sensitive information moves through semi-public spaces.

The focus of this series is narrow and practical: how small, legible signals reduce social friction, prevent avoidable information spillover, and clarify expectations, often even before verbal disclosure occurs.

What Is Privacy Friction?

Kelley Walsh · February 2026

A practical definition of privacy friction as the pause before an answer, how it spreads across shared spaces, and how the micro-privacy gap reveals when disclosure pressure is outrunning discretion.

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