Role: Lead Researcher

Team: Individual project with ethical oversight

Timeline: 6 months

Methods: In-depth interviews, Grounded Theory, Trauma-informed research

📌 Context & Problem

While living in democratic countries, Iranian migrants remain under persistent digital surveillance from the Iranian government. This affects how they communicate, participate online, and construct digital identities, even when physically safe.

Despite growing interest in digital privacy, most UX research ignores the lived experience of users under authoritarian threat. This project examined how politically vulnerable migrants navigate digital life under surveillance and what implications this has for technology design.

🎯 Research Goals

1. Understand how Iranian migrants adapt their digital behaviour under transnational repression
2. Uncover the psychological and social effects of surveillance
3. Identify UX and design implications for secure, culturally responsive technologies

🔬 Methods

🗣️ 1. In-Depth Interviews

• 16 Iranian migrants in Germany
• Explored digital habits, platform choices, and experiences of being watched
• Conducted with ethical safeguards: anonymization, trauma-informed consent, emotional check-ins