Technology use and norm change in online privacy: experimental evidence from vignette studies

Abstract

We suggest that explaining privacy behaviors requires understanding not only individual attitudes, but also norms and trust. We propose: (1) the popularity of a potentially privacy-violating technology leads individuals to expect that others approve of privacy violations and simultaneously increases their trust in the technology provider; (2) the frequency of privacy violations by other similar providers leads individuals to expect that a specific provider will engage in privacy-violating behaviors and decreases trust in that provider; (3) trust in a specific provider and expectations that others approve of the provider violating users’ privacy increase, and expectations that other similar providers are likely to violate privacy decrease, willingness to use a technology. We test our propositions using two vignette experiments in the context of a household energy app. Our results are generally consistent with our hypotheses. Our findings have implications for understanding privacy norms and highlight the potential consequences of major technology roll-outs.