Is It Harmful? Re-examining Privacy Concerns

The increased popularity of interconnected devices, which we rely on when performing day-to-day activities expose people to various privacy harms. This paper presents findings from the empirical investigation of privacy concerns. The study revealed that people, regardless of their diversity, perceive privacy harms as generic and simplified models, not individually as suggested in Solove’s framework. Additionally, the results identified differences in privacy concerns related to information disclosure, protection behavior, and demographics. The findings may benefit privacy and system designers, ensuring that policies and digital systems match people’s privacy expectations, decreasing risks and harms.