Cited by 798Privacy, Security, and Data ProtectionTechnology Adoption and User BehaviourUser Authentication and Security Systems

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 113 of the 113 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 10 of the 90 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

The privacy paradox – investigating discrepancies between expressed privacy concerns and actual online behavior – a systematic literature review

Open access
Barth, Susanne, de Jong, Menno D.T.·2017·Telematics and Informatics

Abstract

Also known as the privacy paradox, recent research on online behavior has revealed discrepancies between user attitude and their actual behavior. More specifically: While users claim to be very concerned about their privacy, they nevertheless undertake very little to protect their personal data. This systematic literature review explores the different theories on the phenomenon known as the privacy paradox. Drawing on a sample of 32 full papers that explore 35 theories in total, we determined that a user’s decision-making process as it pertains to the willingness to divulge privacy information is generally driven by two considerations: (1) risk-benefit evaluation and (2) risk assessment deemed be none or negligible. By classifying in accordance with these two considerations, we have compiled a comprehensive model using all the variables mentioned in the discussed papers. The overall findings of the systematic literature review will investigate the nature of decision-making (rational vs. irrational) and the context in which the privacy paradox takes place, with a special focus on mobile computing. Furthermore, possible solutions and research limitation issues will be discussed.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This systematic literature review synthesizes 32 full papers covering 35 theories to explain the privacy paradox—the discrepancy between expressed privacy concerns and actual online disclosure behavior. It organizes explanations into rational risk-benefit calculation, biased risk assessment within that calculation, and little-to-no risk assessment, arguing that decision-making is often more irrational, especially in mobile computing.

Key findings

  • Across 32 full papers and 35 theories, the review clusters explanations into two main categories: (1) risk-benefit calculation and (2) little to no risk assessment; the first is subdivided into rational calculation and biased risk assessment, with five bias types (heuristics; under-/overestimation of risks and benefits; immediate gratifications; difference between judgments of risks and benefits; habit).
  • The authors conclude that decision-making takes place to a greater extent on an irrational level rather than a rational one, especially for mobile computing, and that the emergence of the privacy paradox is context-dependent.
  • Concrete solutions remain scarce; proposed directions include user-oriented design, privacy awareness tools, situation-specific disclaimers, security warnings, and design cues adapted to different cognitive styles.
  • Only nine studies addressed mobile applications, so the review broadened its parameters to include social network sites, general online contexts, websites, and e-commerce platforms.

Methods

  • Systematic literature review using electronic database searches in GoogleScholar, Scopus, IEEE, Web of Science, and ACM with the keyword “privacy paradox,” plus a manual search of reference lists.
  • Inclusion criteria: full peer-reviewed papers, peer-reviewed conference papers, and published book chapters that explicitly mention and discuss the privacy paradox with a theory or theoretical concept; excluded general privacy articles, personalization privacy paradox, practical-only solutions, legal/ethical discussions, research proposals, and commentaries.
  • Searches resulted in an initial item set of 110 articles; the final sample was N = 32 full papers accounting for 35 theories, which were reviewed to detect clusters and differentiate rational from irrational approaches.

Limitations

  • Stated: attitude and intention are not actual behavior, and actual behavior is seldom measured in the studies; privacy concerns seem highly situation-dependent and fluent over time, yet most studies researched privacy as a stable concept or used conventional polls unsuitable for studying online privacy.
  • Stated: the authors note Dienlin and Trepte’s critique that the privacy paradox may be “a relic of the past,” but they disagree and argue future research should measure actual behavior; they also state that attempts to theoretically explain and practically solve the privacy paradox are still scarce.
  • Evident from text: only nine studies addressed mobile applications, so the review broadened contexts; as a systematic literature review, it synthesizes theories rather than testing them empirically and reports no pooled effect sizes.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.tele.2017.04.013

Cites

113 of 113 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

10 of 90 cited sources checked · 3 supported · 0 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 35 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 45
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 68
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
95 of 95
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    There is no unilaterally accepted theory used to explain online behavior when it comes to information disclosure, nor is there a consensus on the mental processes users rely upon when deciding whether to disclose information or not.

    “To our knowledge, there is not one unilaterally accepted theory used to explain the online behavior of users when it comes to information disclosure, nor is there a consensus on the mental processes users rely upon when deciding whether to disclose information or not.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Individuals recognize their needs and how to satisfy them.

    “This assumes that individuals recognize their needs and how to satisfy them.”
2 of 2

Claims other papers make about this one

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Citations

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Metadata

Authors
Barth, S., & de Jong, M. D. T.
Affiliations
University of Twente (NL)
Corresponding author
Barth, Susanne
Venue
Telematics and Informatics
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2017-11
Volume
34
Issue
7
Pages
1038-1058
ISSN
0736-5853 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2609588687
Cited by
798
References
109
Citations by year
2026: 94 · 2025: 128 · 2024: 90 · 2023: 107 · 2022: 105 · 2021: 103 · 2020: 81 · 2019: 61 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 2
FWCI
20.11
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Telematics and Informatics (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • University of Twente Research Information (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
NWO (628.001.011)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Privacy, Security, and Data Protection
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Technology Adoption and User Behaviour
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › User Authentication and Security Systems
Keywords
privacy paradox, privacy concerns, online behavior, privacy preservation, personal information disclosure, risk-benefit assessment, risk assessment, privacy decision-making, mobile computing, privacy attitudes

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

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Cited sources are checked with a language model’s help (gpt-6-sol).

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