Description
Smartphone apps became indispensable for many individuals. They offer utility in various ways such as personalization or context-sensitivity. Often, utility is enabled by smartphone platforms’ capability to provide apps with automated access to a multiplicity of private resources such as the users’ current location, contacts, or device sensors. While access to these resources is privacy-affecting by nature, users are often not informed appropriately about the privacy-related properties of individual apps before installing them. Existing privacy indicators in app markets have been shown to be ineffective regarding privacy risk communication. Based on warning design theory, we present and experimentally test a new design for privacy indicators for apps in app markets. The ultimate goal is to effectively communicate privacy properties of individual apps and consequently help users in making informed decisions regarding app selection. Our results suggest that the new design promotes safe behavior and successfully communicates privacy properties of apps.
Recommended Citation
Bal, Gökhan, "Designing Privacy Indicators for Smartphone App Markets: A New Perspective on the Nature of Privacy Risks of Apps" (2014). AMCIS 2014 Proceedings. 6.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2014/MobileComputing/GeneralPresentations/6
Designing Privacy Indicators for Smartphone App Markets: A New Perspective on the Nature of Privacy Risks of Apps
Smartphone apps became indispensable for many individuals. They offer utility in various ways such as personalization or context-sensitivity. Often, utility is enabled by smartphone platforms’ capability to provide apps with automated access to a multiplicity of private resources such as the users’ current location, contacts, or device sensors. While access to these resources is privacy-affecting by nature, users are often not informed appropriately about the privacy-related properties of individual apps before installing them. Existing privacy indicators in app markets have been shown to be ineffective regarding privacy risk communication. Based on warning design theory, we present and experimentally test a new design for privacy indicators for apps in app markets. The ultimate goal is to effectively communicate privacy properties of individual apps and consequently help users in making informed decisions regarding app selection. Our results suggest that the new design promotes safe behavior and successfully communicates privacy properties of apps.