Privacy vs. Security: Trade-Offs in the Acceptance of Smart Technologies for Aging-in-Place

Abstract

Smart technologies for aging-in-place address the desire of older adults to live at home independently. Concurrently, they can support the challenged healthcare systems in times of demographic change. Much has already been understood about which factors influence the technology acceptance by future users. Thereby, privacy concerns have been highlighted as a decisive barrier. However, less is yet known about how acceptance is influenced: the central workings of acceptance genesis, the weighing between barriers and benefits and resulting trade-offs have only been focused in very few studies. To gain a deeper understanding of the weighing and trade-offs between privacy barriers and security benefits, an Adaptive Choice-Based Conjoint analysis was carried out using the example of emergency detection technologies (n = 274). The results indicate that if smart technologies offer life-saving security benefits in situations of need, privacy concerns are outweighed. The most important factor for the acceptance decision is the reliability followed by the fall risk. Privacy-related aspects were less important for acceptance decisions. Additionally, the study reveals important data on preferences for system characteristics as well as acceptance thresholds—non-negotiable no-go’s or must-haves. This information helps to understand users’ desires in order to tailor smart technologies to their specific needs.