Location-sharing applications and information privacy: examining users' willingness to share location information

In today’s data-driven world, the user’s location is becoming an important feature within the creation of mobile services. The implementation of more accurate localization techniques has made it possible to develop new service concepts, and offer more appropriate services to users as information gets adjusted to the context. These location-based services (LBS) offer at first glance greater connectivity and efficiency gains, but seem to question the users’ information privacy as well. Possible privacy breaches through tracking and collecting preferences, behavior or identity, makes users concerned to disclose information and fully adopt these services. To address these privacy concerns, this study builds upon the privacy calculus theory to investigate the perceived risks and benefits resulting from the location information disclosure when using LBS. In addition, the role of privacy intervention approaches used by location-based service providers is examined, by including incentive provision, privacy control and privacy policy . The research model was tested using data gathered from a survey, filled in by 909 respondents. Structural equitation modeling reveals that privacy policy and privacy control both help in reducing privacy concerns, and subsequently the willingness to share location information. Extrinsic benefits have a positive, but moderate effect on willingness to share; while the intrinsic benefit of being aware of someone’s activities or presence has the greatest effect. These results enrich privacy research within the LBS context and provide a better understanding of how users can be empowered with regard to the management of their personal data.