The Privacy Calculus: Mobile Apps and User Perceptions of Privacy and Security

Abstract

A continuing stream of new mobile data services are being released that rely upon the collection of personal data to support a business model. New technologies including facial recognition, sensors and Near Field Communications (NFC) will increasingly become a part of everyday services and applications that challenge traditional concepts of individual privacy. The average person as well as the “tech-savvy” mobile phone user may not yet be fully aware of the extent to which their privacy and security are being affected through their mobile activities and how comparable this situation is to personal computer usage. We investigate perceptions and usage of mobile data services that appear to have specific privacy and security sensitivities, specifically social networking, banking/payments and health-related activities. Our annual survey of smartphone users in the U.S. and Japan is presented from 2011. This nationally representative survey data is used to show demographic and cultural differences, and substantiate our hypotheses about the links between use and privacy concerns.