Privacy Literacy Research Articles

College students’ attitudes & privacy literacy knowledge on TikTok

This research explores the privacy literacy and attitudes of college students towards TikTok, a platform deeply embedded in their daily social interactions. With the growing concerns over data privacy, TikTok’s rising influence, and state-level actions such as Florida State University’s ban on its use, this study seeks to fill a critical gap in understanding how undergraduate students engage with and manage their privacy on social media. This research analyzes the relation between privacy and behavior among students, studying, for instance, how well they are aware of risks about their privacy context and how it would change their behavior on TikTok. Also, the study examines how students responded to the university's policy on the ban as well as how they perceived TikTok's privacy settings. In order to provide an overview of privacy literacy levels among young students, the study uses a mix of quantitative (Survey) and qualitative (Interview) approaches. Lastly, it uses the Theory of Information Worlds (Burnett & Jaeger, 2011) to conceptualize the attitude toward privacy derived from social norms, information behavior, and interactions within the same boundaries . Initial findings from a pilot study suggest skepticism about the effectiveness of institutional policies, with limited changes in students’ use of TikTok despite the university’s ban. The full study aims to deepen our understanding of these behaviors and contribute to the broader discourse on privacy in the digital age.

Support Personas: A Concept for Tailored Support of Users of Privacy-Enhancing Technologies

In many applications and websites people use in their everyday life, their privacy and data are threatened, e.g., by script tracking during browsing. Although researchers and companies have developed privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs), they are often difficult to use for lay users. In this paper, we conducted a literature review to classify users into different extit{support personas} based on their privacy competence and privacy concern. With developers of PETs in mind, support personas were envisioned to facilitate the customization of software according to the support needs of different users. In order to demonstrate the usefulness of support personas and based on workshop sessions with 15 participants, we designed a browser extension that supports users with the issue of script tracking by providing different user interfaces for different support personas. The following qualitative evaluation with 31 participants showed that the developed UI elements worked as intended for the different support personas. Therefore, we conclude the concept of support personas is useful in the development process of usable applications that enhance the privacy of the users while also educating them and thus potentially increasing their privacy literacy.

College Students' Attitudes & Information Literacy Knowledge Related to Privacy on TikTok

ABSTRACTThis study is a project designed to be part of the PhD dissertation research as a pilot aimed at assessing the study's feasibility and its potential for refinement. The paper presents a study that explored the attitudes and knowledge of college students toward privacy in TikTok. This paper aims to comparatively assess student privacy literacy and privacy‐related concerns along with their response patterns towards the Florida State University policy banning TikTok on campus networks. The study utilizes semi‐structured, qualitative interviews to collect data from five undergraduate students (age 18–24) at Florida State University. It has analyzed and discussed the data collected from these interviews to achieve greater insight into the privacy literacy of students, their privacy concerns, and how Generation Z (Gen Z) students view institutional policies affect their use of social media. Preliminary findings suggests students are skeptical of the ban due to perceived ineffectiveness of the school policy. Analysis showed the new school rules had little effect on students' usage pattern or the amount of time they spent using TikTok.

The Impact of Data Privacy on Users' Smartphone App Adoption Decisions

Rich user information is gained through user tracking and power mobile smartphone applications. Apps thereby become aware of the user and their context, enabling intelligent and adaptive applications. However, such data poses severe privacy risks. Although users are only partially aware of them, awareness increases with the proliferation of privacy-enhancing technologies. How privacy literacy and raising privacy concerns affect app adoption is unclear; however, we hypothesize that it leads to a lower adoption rate of data-heavy smartphone apps, as non-usage often is the user's only option to protect themselves. We conducted a survey (N=100) to investigate the relationship between privacy-relevant app- and publisher characteristics with the users' intention to install and use it. We found that users are especially critical of contentful data types and apps with rights to perform actions on their behalf. On the other hand, the expectation of a productive benefit induced by the app can increase the app-adoption intention. Our findings show which aspects designers of privacy-enhancing technologies should focus on to meet the demand for more user-centered privacy.

How Users Assess Privacy Risks in the Internet of Things: The Role of Framing, Comparing, and Educating

With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), it has become increasingly challenging for users to assess the privacy risks associated with consumer products and the continuous stream of user data needed to operate them. In this study, we propose and test three mechanisms with the potential to help users make more accurate assessments of privacy risks. We refer to these mechanisms as framing (i.e., presenting information on the collection and use of user data with or without direct reference to privacy risks), comparing (i.e., presenting a product and the associated information on data collection and use with or without reference to an alternative product), and educating (i.e., augmenting users’ general privacy literacy). To assess these mechanisms in different IoT contexts, we conducted two scenario-based online experiments with reference to a telematics device ( n = 317) and a fitness tracker ( n = 356). In both studies, we find that actual privacy risks as manipulated in the experiment are only moderately related to the privacy risks perceived by users. However, comparing and educating each helped users make more accurate privacy risk assessments. In Study 2, framing and comparing jointly enabled especially users with low privacy literacy to assess privacy risks more accurately. These findings have meaningful implications for key actors in the IoT ecosystem and those regulating it.

What triggers customers’ privacy protection behavior: The effect of surveillance cameras and data collection disclosure

ABSTRACT Despite all the benefits of what customer data can bring to the marketing field, customers’ privacy concern is one of the key challenges that comes with Big Data, privacy threats have evolved along with the evolution of information technology and resulted in privacy protection behaviour among customers. The present research conducted an experimental study to examine the effects of external stimuli in triggering privacy protection behaviour, including the presence of surveillance cameras, company disclosure of biometric data collection, and customers’ prior knowledge of privacy. The study involved a 3 (environmental awareness: low/average/high) x 2 (company disclosure: yes/no) between subject designs. Data was collected on the Tencent questionnaire platform (https://wj.qq.com/) with 554 effective responses. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyze the data. The results revealed that the presence of surveillance cameras, company disclosure in biometric data collection, and the customer’s prior knowledge of privacy are crucial factors in triggering a customer’s privacy protection behaviour in the service industry. Practical implications for retail store operators and theoretical contributions are discussed. The current study extends the knowledge of privacy protection by incorporating additional factors (privacy literacy) into the existing protection motivation theory. Additionally, it extends its application to the physical environment which is often overlooked.

Satisfaction with Behavior Trajectory Security Protection in Social Media Intelligent Recommendations

Abstract Intelligent recommender systems provide personalized recommendation for users based on their behavior trajectories. Intelligent recommendation is a double-edged sword with increasing impacts. This study investigates the influencing mechanism of social media users’ satisfaction with behavior trajectory security protection in the context of intelligent recommendation, with the aim of promoting healthy development of mobile social media. This study applied the grounded theory method to identify relations among concepts and categories in terms of three-level coding. During open coding, 271 initial concepts and 26 subcategories were elicited; during axial coding, 10 categories were elicited; and during selective coding, relations among categories were identified and a theoretical model was developed. The results indicate that satisfaction with behavior trajectory security protection is directly influenced by security protection information quality, security protection system quality, security protection service quality, net benefits, external support, privacy concerns, and privacy cognitive biases. Privacy literacy has direct impacts on privacy concerns and privacy cognitive biases. Meanwhile, herd behavior directly impacts privacy concerns. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Differences in access to privacy information can partly explain digital inequalities in privacy literacy and self-efficacy

ABSTRACT Users of digital technologies are still held legally responsible for managing their personal data. However, not all users have the same opportunities for privacy management as researchers find systematic sociodemographic differences in, for example, users’ privacy literacy and self-efficacy – two important predictors of privacy management. The present study argues that one reason for such digital inequalities is how easily people have access to privacy information in their everyday lives (e.g. through their profession or social contacts). Analysing data of a representative sample of German internet users (N = 3978) by means of a Bayesian structural equation model, we find that men and more educated persons report easier access to privacy information which, in turn, positively relates to both privacy literacy and self-efficacy. Older persons feel less confident about privacy protection while men and more highly educated persons have higher privacy literacy levels. In conclusion, the present study reveals that casual access to privacy information can be important in learning and being confident about privacy management, but it cannot fully explain digital inequalities in online privacy self-efficacy and literacy.

Explaining Social Media Use Reduction As an Adaptive Coping Mechanism: The Roles of Privacy Literacy, Social Media Addiction and Exhaustion

ABSTRACT This study integrates privacy calculus and stress-coping theories to understand social media (SM) use reduction. Findings using a survey of 255 SM users show that privacy concerns are a stressor that drives adaptive coping mechanisms and later use reduction. Further, it was demonstrated that the translation of privacy calculus considerations into adaptive coping depends on privacy literacy. Moreover, adaptive coping’s impact on use reduction decreased in users addicted to, but not exhausted by SM use.

University Students’ Perspective on ChatGPT and Technology Literacies

In recent years, technologies utilising artificial intelligence have gained popularity. It is common for college students to use ChatGPT when writing academic assignments. Considering the importance of technology literacy in adopting ChatGPT in academic writing, this study explored how Chatbot was used by college students in Bhutan in relation to Privacy literacy, Data literacy, Information literacy, and Technology adoption (Chatbot). Using a cross-sectional survey, the data for this study was collected using an online survey and 290 students responded. Analyses were mainly quantitative. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were reported. The findings of Mann-Whitney U test suggests that male students used more technology compared to their female counterparts and statistically significant differences were found on technological adoption between the genders. However, the results of Kruskal-Wallis H test revealed that there was no statistically significant difference across four age levels. Furthermore, results of path analyses showed significant direct relationship from Data literacy to Technology adoption (Chatbot). However, no empirical support was found for Information literacy and Privacy literacy. Taken together, the findings of this study have significance to the students, lecturers, and policy planners of the Royal University of Bhutan.

IoT Complexity: Security, Vulnerabilities and Risks

IoT privacy highlights the critical significance of tailored threat models to address the evolving challenges in the IoT landscape. This research paper presents an in-depth examination of privacy threat modeling in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT), and aims to develop threat models tailored to different IoT device categories, identifying vulnerabilities and potential privacy risks associated with each. This analysis seeks to provide insights into the diverse privacy challenges posed by IoT devices, ranging from wearables to healthcare IoT and smart home, which exhibit unique vulnerabilities and privacy risks. By developing threat models specific to each device category, this research elucidates the diversity of privacy concerns, such as data breaches, unauthorized access, and data tracking the applicability of privacy regulations varies across these categories, emphasizing the need for tailored regulatory frameworks. The research underscores the importance of user education and responsible device design, advocating for privacy literacy and transparency, as it ensures that privacy is an integral part of the development process, fostering a safer, more secure, and privacy-conscious IoT ecosystem where innovation and privacy coexist for the benefit of all.

Online privacy literacy and users' information privacy empowerment: the case of GDPR in Europe

PurposeResearch on online user privacy shows that empirical evidence on how privacy literacy relates to users' information privacy empowerment is missing. To fill this gap, this paper investigated the respective influence of two primary dimensions of online privacy literacy – namely declarative and procedural knowledge – on online users' information privacy empowerment.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical analysis is conducted using a dataset collected in Europe. This survey was conducted in 2019 among 27,524 representative respondents of the European population.FindingsThe main results show that users' procedural knowledge is positively linked to users' privacy empowerment. The relationship between users' declarative knowledge and users' privacy empowerment is partially supported. While greater awareness about firms and organizations practices in terms of data collections and further uses conditions was found to be significantly associated with increased users' privacy empowerment, unpredictably, results revealed that the awareness about the GDPR and user’s privacy empowerment are negatively associated. The empirical findings reveal also that greater online privacy literacy is associated with heightened users' information privacy empowerment.Originality/valueWhile few advanced studies made systematic efforts to measure changes occurred on websites since the GDPR enforcement, it remains unclear, however, how individuals perceive, understand and apply the GDPR rights/guarantees and their likelihood to strengthen users' information privacy control. Therefore, this paper contributes empirically to understanding how online users' privacy literacy shaped by both users' declarative and procedural knowledge is likely to affect users' information privacy empowerment. The study empirically investigates the effectiveness of the GDPR in raising users' information privacy empowerment from user-based perspective. Results stress the importance of greater transparency of data tracking and processing decisions made by online businesses and services to strengthen users' control over information privacy. Study findings also put emphasis on the crucial need for more educational efforts to raise users' awareness about the GDPR rights/guarantees related to data protection. Empirical findings also show that users who are more likely to adopt self-protective approaches to reinforce personal data privacy are more likely to perceive greater control over personal data. A broad implication of this finding for practitioners and E-businesses stresses the need for empowering users with adequate privacy protection tools to ensure more confidential transactions.

A Study on the Influence of Users’ Privacy Literacy and Trust Repair Strategies on the Effectiveness of Trust Repair after Social Media Privacy Invasion

A Study on the Influence of Users’ Privacy Literacy and Trust Repair Strategies on the Effectiveness of Trust Repair after Social Media Privacy Invasion

Designing and Evaluating an Interactive Learning Technology to Foster Privacy Literacy

Designing and Evaluating an Interactive Learning Technology to Foster Privacy Literacy

EXPLORING HOW U.S. K-12 EDUCATION ADDRESSES PRIVACY LITERACY

As children grow up immersed in digital environments, scholars and policymakers emphasize the importance of helping children learn how to navigate privacy online. Prior work has found that educators recognize this need for privacy lessons but do not always feel equipped to teach them. Indeed, the term “privacy” has many meanings and the concept of privacy does not easily fit in a specific subject, intersecting with social studies, computer science, media literacy, digital literacy, and digital citizenship. Scholars have begun developing frameworks for privacy education, but such efforts will have a higher chance of success if they can be integrated into existing educational standards. Thus, in this study we are analyzing U.S. K-12 educational standards to understand whether and how they address privacy literacy. Our initial analysis has found that 44 of the 50 U.S. states have implemented educational standards related to privacy, largely as part of library, computer science, or social studies. The main privacy-related topics in state standards include being careful about posting information online and managing passwords. These preliminary findings suggest that while privacy is part of many state education standards, there are opportunities to help educators bring a more nuanced approach to privacy into their classrooms.

ANTECEDENTS OF PRIVACY PROTECTION BEHAVIORS AT THE VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL LEVELS

Internet users face privacy threats when using online services. Privacy protection behaviors, such as adjusting privacy settings, can alleviate some of these threats. Research shows that individuals’ privacy protection behaviors (PPBs) depend on their socio-demographics characteristics, digital engagement, privacy concerns, and online privacy literacy (OPL). In addition, it has been suggested that due to the complexity of privacy issues online, an adequate level of OPL is required to translate privacy concerns into protective actions. Although previous research examined the antecedents of PPBs at a general level, it has rarely made a clear distinction and comparison between PPBs aimed toward the practices of institutions (vertical level) and those aimed toward other internet users (horizontal level). This is somewhat surprising given that many scholars underscored the importance of context in online privacy-related matters. Therefore, this study compared the antecedents of PPBs at the general, vertical, and horizontal levels. To this end, we tested three models to examine how socio-demographic characteristics, digital engagement, privacy concerns, and OPL influence PPBs at the general, vertical, and horizontal levels, and assessed whether OPL moderates the relationship between privacy concerns and PPBs at different levels. The models were tested using linear regression on a nation-wide sample of 1,015 internet users aged 18+ from Slovenia. The analysis revealed important differences between the levels in case of gender, age, and privacy concerns, but not OPL.

Awareness of Personal Data Protection Law in concern to literacy

Understanding privacy literacy can help everyone treat their personal data shared on online platforms. Data protection starts from the idea that individuals have the right to information about themselves. There must be efforts to prevent misuse; hence, it makes digital literacy important. This research aimed to measure students' understanding of the importance of protecting personal data in the PDP Law based on the categories of knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. The research used quantitative methods with an analytical survey approach. Data analysis techniques used the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). The population was 75 undergraduate and postgraduate students in West Java. The final score showed the number 81. Research results showed that the knowledge dimension scored 82, or a good level. It explained that most respondents understood data privacy protection laws. The attitude dimension had a score of 83, classified as good. Respondents were expected to stay informed about information protection and data privacy. The behavioral dimension was lower than the other dimensions, namely 77 or classified as an average level. In conclusion, the awareness level of the Data Privacy Protection Law based on the areas and dimensions that have been taken into account is at a good level, although it still needs improvement in terms of habits or behavior.

Orienting privacy literacy toward social change

PurposeThis article advocates that privacy literacy research and praxis mobilize people toward changing the technological and social conditions that discipline subjects toward advancing institutional, rather than community, goals.Design/methodology/approachThis article analyzes theory and prior work on datafication, privacy, data literacy, privacy literacy and critical literacy to provide a vision for future privacy literacy research and praxis.FindingsThis article (1) explains why privacy is a valuable rallying point around which people can resist datafication, (2) locates privacy literacy within data literacy, (3) identifies three ways that current research and praxis have conceptualized privacy literacy (i.e. as knowledge, as a process of critical thinking and as a practice of enacting information flows) and offers a shared purpose to animate privacy literacy research and praxis toward social change and (4) explains how critical literacy can help privacy literacy scholars and practitioners orient their research and praxis toward changing the conditions that create privacy concerns.Originality/valueThis article uniquely synthesizes existing scholarship on data literacy, privacy literacy and critical literacy to provide a vision for how privacy literacy research and praxis can go beyond improving individual understanding and toward enacting social change.

Thematic exploration of online privacy literacy and examination of its future agenda

ABSTRACT In today’s digitized society of ever-increasing information sharing, Online Privacy Literacy (OPL) is not only important to feel safe but be safe as well. OPL refers to skills and knowledge of individuals that helps to protect their privacy online. OPL is crucial in the digital era, where extensive data collection poses privacy challenges. The lack of OPL is a major disadvantage as it may impair one’s privacy decision-making abilities such as whether and how much personal data to disclose online. Despite its importance, OPL research is in its early stages. To pave the way to bridge this gap, we conducted a systematic review of 57 articles, offering a theoretical connection to privacy research. Our synthesis highlights how OPL is defined, measured, and its primary knowledge domains. Seven themes emerged, emphasizing OPL across age groups and revealing unexplored areas like the interplay between OPL, technology acceptance, and technostress. This exploration provides a roadmap for researchers to understand OPL implications and its role in privacy domains, guiding future research directions. Experts can leverage this thematic exploration to develop knowledge, skills, and effective privacy protection measures for individuals and institutions in the dynamic landscape of online privacy.

Do Online Ads Sway Voters? Understanding the Persuasiveness of Online Political Ads

ABSTRACT This study investigates the effect of online political ads on party preference, and whether this effect is more pronounced for newer political parties and voters who are less politically knowledgeable and literate regarding online privacy. A mixed-method approach, combining Facebook browser tracking data and a four-wave panel survey, was adopted during the 2021 Dutch General Election campaign. The results showed that the number of political ads received from a specific party has a positive effect on both the propensity and choice to vote for that party. In addition, people with less political knowledge and online privacy literacy are more likely to be persuaded by online political ads. However, at the party level, there is no evidence indicating that the effect of political ads on party preference is stronger for new parties than for established parties. Overall, this study shows that voters can be persuaded via the frequency of exposure to online political ads, but the extent to which they are affected can vary.