INRIA Grenoble PhD Seminars

June 2026

Speakers :

• Ivan Baheux-Blin, PhD student at PRIVATICS team (Inria) : Studying Android in the Age of Restricted Transparency
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   With billions of users and a vast diversity of devices, Android represents one of the largest and most influential digital ecosystems in the world. Its scale makes it a crucial target for researchers, auditors, and regulators seeking to understand how mobile platforms operate and whether they comply with privacy and consumer protection requirements.
   Yet, despite Android’s open-source foundations, analyzing the platform has become increasingly challenging. Over the years, new security mechanisms and platform restrictions have reduced visibility into system behavior, often limiting the ability of independent actors to observe, measure, and verify how data is collected and used. In many respects, the mobile ecosystem is evolving toward a model that offers users, and those studying the platform, less control and transparency than traditional web environments.
   This presentation reflects on a PhD journey that began with studying Android itself and gradually shifted toward a broader question: how can researchers and regulators investigate digital platforms when the platforms actively constrain observation? Through experiences navigating technical barriers, changing platform requirements, and researcher-pentester collaborations, I will discuss the growing tension between security, transparency, and accountability, and explore the adversarial landscape faced by those working to verify whether privacy promises and legal obligations are truly being respected.


• Imen Bajar, PhD student at PRIVATICS team (Inria) : Beyond the Mask : The illusion of privacy in brain MRI
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