Don't They Really Hear Us? A Design Space for Private Conversations in Social Virtual Reality

Josephus Jasper Limbago, Robin Welsch, Florian Müller, Mario Di Francesco

TVCG 2025

IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics

TL;DR

What we did: We conducted a study on the design of private conversation methods in Social Virtual Reality applications, focusing on user needs and interaction methods.

What we found: We found that users prioritize privacy, ease of use, and awareness of surroundings when engaging in private conversations, revealing significant limitations in existing methods like Private Talk and Private Room.

Takeaway: Our work contributes a comprehensive design space that can guide the development of more intuitive and meaningful private conversation experiences in Social Virtual Reality, ultimately fostering self-disclosure and enhancing user safety.

Abstract

Seamless transition between public dialogue and private talks is essential in everyday conversations. Social Virtual Reality (VR) has revolutionized interpersonal communication by creating a sense of closeness over distance through virtual avatars. However, existing social VR platforms are not successful in providing safety and supporting private conversations, thereby hindering self-disclosure and limiting the potential for meaningful experiences. We approach this problem by exploring the factors affecting private conversations in social VR applications, including the usability of different interaction methods and the awareness with respect to the virtual world. We conduct both expert interviews and a controlled experiment with a social VR prototype we realized. We then leverage the outcomes of the two studies to establish a design space that considers diverse dimensions (including privacy levels, social awareness, and modalities), laying the groundwork for more intuitive and meaningful experiences of private conversation in social VR.