Operating system-level assistive features for contextual privacy

A system comprising:

• memory;
• and
• at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor being configured to cause the system to:
• detect a plurality of computing devices configured as a distributed ambient computing system within a defined environment;
• receive a query from a user of the distributed ambient computing system;
• obtain, from the distributed ambient computing system, data representing a device context for at least two of the plurality of computing devices;
• generate a combined context corresponding to the distributed ambient computing system, the combined context representing a combination of the device context for the at least two of the plurality of computing devices;
• receive, based on the combined context, a response to the query;
• and
• provide the response to the user.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed using at least one processor, cause a computing device to perform operations comprising:

• detecting a plurality of computing devices configured as a distributed ambient computing system within a defined environment;
• receiving a query from a user of the distributed ambient computing system;
• obtaining, from the distributed ambient computing system, data representing a device context for at least two of the plurality of computing devices;
• generating a combined context corresponding to the distributed ambient computing system, the combined context representing a combination of the device context for the at least two of the plurality of computing devices;
• receiving, based on the combined context, a response to the query;
• and
• providing the response to the user.