Objective

The goal of this study was to examine the relation between users’ reported risk concerns and their choice behaviors in a mobile application (app) selection task.

Background

Human users are typically regarded as the weakest link in cybersecurity and privacy protection; however, it is possible to leverage the users’ predilections to increase security. There have been mixed results on the relation between users’ self-reported privacy concerns and their behaviors.

Method

In three experiments, the timing of self-reported risk concerns was either a few weeks before the app-selection task (pre-screen), immediately before it (pre-task), or immediately after it (post-task). We also varied the availability and placement of clear definitions and quizzes to ensure users’ understanding of the risk categories.

Results

The post-task report significantly predicted the app-selection behaviors, consistent with prior findings. The pre-screen report was largely inconsistent with the reports implemented around the time of the task, indicating that participants’ risk concerns may not be stable over time and across contexts. Moreover, the pre-task report strongly predicted the app-selection behaviors only when elaborated definitions and quizzes were placed before the pre-task question, indicating the importance of clear understanding of the risk categories.

Conclusion

Self-reported risk concerns may be unstable over time and across contexts. When explained with clear definitions, self-reported risk concerns obtained immediately before or after the app-selection task significantly predicted app-selection behaviors.

Application

We discuss implications for including personalized risk concerns during app selection that enable comparison of alternative mobile apps.

中文翻译：

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言出必行：风险担忧和移动应用程序选择行为

客观的

本研究的目的是检查用户报告的风险担忧与他们在移动应用程序 (app) 选择任务中的选择行为之间的关系。

背景

人类用户通常被视为网络安全和隐私保护中最薄弱的环节；但是，可以利用用户的偏好来提高安全性。关于用户自我报告的隐私问题与其行为之间的关系，结果喜忧参半。

方法

在三个实验中，自我报告风险担忧的时间要么是在应用程序选择任务之前的几周（预筛选），要么是在它之前（任务前），要么是在它之后（任务后）。我们还改变了清晰定义和测验的可用性和位置，以确保用户对风险类别的理解。

结果

任务后报告显着预测了应用程序选择行为，与之前的发现一致。预筛选报告与任务期间实施的报告在很大程度上不一致，表明参与者的风险担忧可能随着时间的推移和不同的背景而不稳定。此外，仅当详细定义和测验放在任务前问题之前时，任务前报告才强烈预测应用程序选择行为，表明清楚理解风险类别的重要性。

结论

自我报告的风险担忧可能会随着时间的推移和不同的环境而变得不稳定。当用明确的定义进行解释时，在应用程序选择任务之前或之后立即获得的自我报告的风险担忧显着预测了应用程序选择行为。

应用

我们讨论了在应用程序选择过程中包含个性化风险问题的影响，以便能够比较替代移动应用程序。