How Acceptable Is This? How User Experience Factors Can Broaden our Understanding of The Acceptance of Privacy Trade-offs. (May 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Distler, Verena; Lallemand, Carine; Koenig, Vincent
• Is Part Of: Computers in human behavior. Volume 106(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-05
• Subjects: Privacy trade-offs -- User experience -- Technology acceptance -- Qualitative methods; Interactive computer systems -- Periodicals; Man-machine systems -- Periodicals; 004.019
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2019.106227
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0747-5632

Abstract

Abstract: Privacy is a timely topic that is increasingly scrutinized in the public eye. In spite of privacy and security breaches, people still frequently compromise their privacy in exchange for certain benefits of a technology or a service. This study builds on both technology acceptance (TA) and User Experience (UX) research in order to explore and build hypotheses regarding additional dimensions that might play a role in the acceptability of privacy tradeoffs that are not currently accounted for in TA models. Using four scenarios describing situations with potential privacy trade-offs, we conducted a focus group study with 8 groups of participants (N = 32). Our results suggest that factors influencing privacy trade-offs go beyond existing TA factors alone. A technology's perceived usefulness plays an important role, as well as dimensions related to context, previous experiences, perceived autonomy and the feeling of control over the data being shared. Highlights: Applicability of technology acceptance models to privacy and security contexts. Hedonic factors should be included in acceptance models to assess privacy trade-offs. Perceived usefulness, previous experiences, autonomy and feeling of control over data. Implications for the design of privacy-relevant systems.