Start Date
14-12-2012 12:00 AM
Description
Mobile applications continue to experience explosive growth. Using mobile apps often requires disclosing location data--often along with various other forms of private information. Existing research has implied that consumers are willing to accept privacy risks for relatively smaller benefits and the mobile app context appears to be no different. In other words, consumers do not demonstrate perfect rationality regarding their valuation of risks and benefits regarding mobile app information disclosure. This study employs a theoretical lens based on privacy calculus, but integrated with prospect theory and intertemporal choice to explain how and why this "bounded" rationality occurs in information disclosure decisions through mobile apps. It reports the results of a controlled experiment involving consumers (n=1025) in a range of ages, education, and employment experience based on actual information disclosure. We find that consumers undervalue the probability of risks and have difficulty separating their existing risk exposure from potential new threats.
Recommended Citation
Keith, Mark; Thompson, Samuel; Hale, Joanne; and Greer, Chapman, "Examining the Rationality of Location Data Disclosure through Mobile Devices" (2012). ICIS 2012 Proceedings. 8.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2012/proceedings/ISSecurity/8
Examining the Rationality of Location Data Disclosure through Mobile Devices
Mobile applications continue to experience explosive growth. Using mobile apps often requires disclosing location data--often along with various other forms of private information. Existing research has implied that consumers are willing to accept privacy risks for relatively smaller benefits and the mobile app context appears to be no different. In other words, consumers do not demonstrate perfect rationality regarding their valuation of risks and benefits regarding mobile app information disclosure. This study employs a theoretical lens based on privacy calculus, but integrated with prospect theory and intertemporal choice to explain how and why this "bounded" rationality occurs in information disclosure decisions through mobile apps. It reports the results of a controlled experiment involving consumers (n=1025) in a range of ages, education, and employment experience based on actual information disclosure. We find that consumers undervalue the probability of risks and have difficulty separating their existing risk exposure from potential new threats.