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The study investigates how transparency about when and how such models are used affects user perceptions and behaviors. A user study (N=21) shows participants are often unaware of model outputs and usage timing in Instagram and TikTok. Exposure leads to long-term behavior changes in 8 participants, highlighting challenges and opportunities for ML transparency using local user data.","Edinburgh Research Explorer  \n“Impressively scary\"  \nExploring user perceptions and reactions to unraveling machine learning models in social media applications  \nCitation for published version:  \nWest, J, Cagiltay, B, Zhang, S, Li, J, Fawaz, K & Banerjee, S 2025,“Impressively scary\": Exploring user perceptions and reactions to unraveling machine learning models in social media applications. in N Yamashita, V Evers, K Yatani, X Ding, B Lee, M Chetty & P Toups-Dugas (eds), CHI '25: Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. , 818, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), New York, NY, United States, pp. 1-21, 2025 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Yokohama, Japan, 26/04/25 . [https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713256](https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713256)  \nDigital Object Identifier (DOI):  \n10.1145/3706598.3713256  \nLink:  \nLink to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer  \nDocument Version:  \nPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of record  \nPublished In:  \nCHI '25  \nGeneral rights  \nCopyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.  \nTake down policy  \nThe University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please [contact openaccess@ed.ac.uk](contact openaccess@ed.ac.uk) providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.  \nDownload date: 08. Jan. 2026  \n“Impressively Scary:’ Exploring User Perceptions and Reactions to Unraveling Machine Learning Models in Social Media  \nApplications  \nJack West  \nDepartment of Computer Sciences University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, Wisconsin, USA [jwwest@wisc.edu](jwwest@wisc.edu)  \nBengisu Cagiltay  \nDepartment of Computer Sciences University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, Wisconsin, USA [bengisu@cs.wisc.edu](bengisu@cs.wisc.edu)  \nShirley Zhang  \nDepartment of Computer Sciences University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, Wisconsin, USA [hzhang664@wisc.edu](hzhang664@wisc.edu)  \nJingjie Li  \nSchool of Informatics University of Edinburgh Edinburgh, United Kingdom [jingjie.li@ed.ac.uk](jingjie.li@ed.ac.uk)  \nKassem Fawaz  \nElectrical and Computer Engineering University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, Wisconsin, USA [kfawaz@wisc.edu](kfawaz@wisc.edu)  \nSuman Banerjee  \nDepartment of Computer Sciences University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, Wisconsin, USA [suman@cs.wisc.edu](suman@cs.wisc.edu)  \nAbstract  \nMachine learning models deployed locally on social media applications are used for features, such as face filters which read faces in-real time, and they expose sensitive attributes to the apps. However, the deployment of machine learning models, e.g., when, where, and how they are used, in social media applications is opaque to users. We aim to address this inconsistency and investigate how social media user perceptions and behaviors change once exposed to these models. We conducted user studies (N=21) and found that participants were unaware to both what the models output and when the models were used in Instagram and TikTok, two major social media platforms. In response to being exposed to the models’functionality, we observed long term behavior changes in 8 participants. Our analysis uncovers the challenges and opportunities in providing transparency for machine learning models that interact with local user data.  \nCCS Concepts  \n• Security and privacy → Social aspects of security and privacy; • Human-centered computing → Empirical studies in HCI.  \nKeywords  \nAI Transparency; Social Media; Privacy; Mobile AI  \nACM Reference Format:  \nJack West, Bengisu Cagiltay, Shirley Zhang, Jingjie Li, Kassem ","cbCaiizTfI6jRY7m","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiizTfI6jRY7m","pdf",1545833,1,22,"English","en",105,"# Introduction\n## Motivation and market context\n## Opacity of AI/ML deployment\n# Study and findings\n## User study design (N=21)\n## Awareness of outputs and usage timing\n## Long-term behavior changes\n# Challenges and opportunities\n## Transparency for local user-data ML","[{\"question\":\"What problem does the paper address about machine learning models in social media?\",\"answer\":\"It addresses the mismatch between ML functionality that uses sensitive local data and users’ limited understanding of when, where, and how those models are used.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the authors evaluate user perceptions and reactions?\",\"answer\":\"They conducted user studies with 21 participants to examine awareness of what models output and when models were used in Instagram and TikTok.\"},{\"question\":\"What were the main behavior outcomes after users were exposed to model functionality?\",\"answer\":\"The study observed long-term behavior changes in 8 participants after exposure, demonstrating measurable effects of increasing transparency.\"}]","Impressively scary - Exploring user perceptions and reactions to unraveling machine learning models in social media applications | PDF",1785725275,55,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":86,"head_meta":88,"extra_data":90,"updated_unix":28},"impressively-scary-exploring-user-perceptions-and-reactions-to-unraveling-machine-learning-models-in-social-media-applications","",{"@graph":36,"@context":85},[37,54,68],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,48,51],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":47},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":53},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/impressively-scary-exploring-user-perceptions-and-reactions-to-unraveling-machine-learning-models-in-social-media-applications/119608/",4,{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":55,"author":56,"headline":13,"publisher":58,"fileFormat":61,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":62,"datePublished":62,"encodingFormat":61,"isAccessibleForFree":63,"interactionStatistic":64},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":57},"Person",{"url":41,"name":59,"@type":60},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-08-03",true,{"@type":65,"interactionType":66,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":67},"ViewAction",{"@type":69,"mainEntity":70},"FAQPage",[71,77,81],{"name":72,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":74},"What problem does the paper address about machine learning models in social media?","Question",{"text":75,"@type":76},"It addresses the mismatch between ML functionality that uses sensitive local data and users’ limited understanding of when, where, and how those models are used.","Answer",{"name":78,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":79},"How did the authors evaluate user perceptions and reactions?",{"text":80,"@type":76},"They conducted user studies with 21 participants to examine awareness of what models output and when models were used in Instagram and TikTok.",{"name":82,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":83},"What were the main behavior outcomes after users were exposed to model functionality?",{"text":84,"@type":76},"The study observed long-term behavior changes in 8 participants after exposure, demonstrating measurable effects of increasing transparency.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":52,"og:type":87,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":59,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":89,"canonical":52},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":92},[93,97,101,105,110,115,120,123,128,131,135],{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":94,"show_sort_weight":95,"slug":96},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":47,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":53,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},30,"research-report",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":126,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":130},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":133,"show_sort_weight":132,"slug":134},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":136,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":137,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":138},19,"General","general"]