Purpose – This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing discourse about the nature of privacy and its role in ubiquitous environments and provide insights for future research. Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses the privacy implications of particular characteristics of ubiquitous applications and discusses the fundamental principles and information practices used in digital environments for protecting individuals' private data. Findings – A significant trend towards shifting privacy protection responsibility from government to the individuals is identified. Also, specific directions for future research are provided with a focus on interdisciplinary research. Research limitations/implications – This paper identifies key research issues and provides directions for future research. Originality/value – This study contributes by identifying major challenges that should be addressed, so that a set of “fair information principles” can be applied in the context of ubiquitous environments. It also discusses the limitations of these principles and provides recommendations for future research.