In 2002, in a research project at the University of California, Berkeley alongside Scott Lederer and Jennifer Mankoff, the team developed a conceptual model exploring the tangibility and accessibility of everyday end-user privacy in ubicomp environments.

The model takes considerations from societal influences, contextual factors, and subjectivity to develop a far-reaching scope for ubicomp privacy.

The model was then used to explore an interactional metaphor called situational faces, which makes the issue of privacy in ubiquitous computing environments more accessible to users.

[5] In 2006,[6] Dey developed a research paper alongside Min Kyung Lee, Scott Davidoff, and John Zimmerman, all of Carnegie Mellon University, exploring and evaluating the usage of home automation technology and their effects on family life.

[7] In 2010,[8] Dey, alongside Dana Pavel and Vic Callaghan of the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering at the University of Essex, evaluated and presented a highly interfaced system for users to understand and express their own lifestyles and habits through an analysis of compiled data into a story-based representation.