This thesis aims to investigate the effectiveness and significance of cookie notifications for users from a consent perspective. Specifically, the study seeks to answer the following research questions: 1) What types of cookie notifications can be identified on websites? 2) What factors influence the perception, experience, and final decision of tech-savvy users when it comes to cookie notifications? The implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018 has required websites to inform users about the collection, processing, and use of personal data, as well as request their consent. One way to achieve this is through cookie notifications. However, the impact and factors influencing users' interaction with cookie notifications are still unclear. Therefore, this qualitative study analyzes a sample of cookie notifications through user interviews and think-aloud testing to explore factors affecting users' perceptions and decisions regarding consent. The results of our study indicate that consent fatigue is the most decisive factor in a user's choice of cookies. The large number of daily requests that users must face leads to users not caring about making privacy choices. Although fear of missing out and nudging also affect a user, it is cookie notifications with extensive text that induce consent fatigue. Our conclusion is that if cookie notifications are still to exist, they should be even more private by default and that options like "accept all" should require more active choices by the user and not the other way around. The results will help enhance the transparency and user-friendliness of cookie notifications while balancing privacy protection and user experience.

Denna studie undersöker uppfattningar som användare har gällande integritet, ansvar och säkerhet kring deras Smart TV:s. Det som har analyserats är vem användare anser att ansvaret angående säkerheten ligger hos, om det är tillverkare som står för den eller om andra aktörer bär på ansvaret. Vidare undersöker uppsatsen relaterade ämnen som användarvillkor, automatic content recognition (ACR), dark patterns samt integritetsparadoxen och kopplar dessa överlappande definitioner till hur dessa områden kan påverka användares syn på ansvarsfördelning och hur de kan ha påverkan på en användares agerande. Undersökningen består primärt av en kvantitativ studie. Genom en enkätundersökning som skickas ut genom sociala medier, har 187 respondenter från olika länder i Europa fått svara på vem eller vilka de tycker bär ansvaret för integritet och säkerhet av datainsamlingen som sker av smart TV:er. Vidare har de fått uppge om de känner någon oro kring datainsamlingen och om de vidtagit några åtgärder för att skydda sin integritet och säkerhet. Som komplement till enkätstudien har även en litteraturstudie gjorts för att kunna koppla studiens resultat till befintlig teori. Studien visar på att befintlig teori är i linje med enkätens resultat. Studien visar på att det inte finns någon korrelation mellan individens uppfattning om ansvar, individens oro och hur benägen individen är att vidta åtgärder. Detta fenomen benämns i teorin som “integritetsparadoxen”, som har visat att individer inte nödvändigtvis är mer benägna till att vidta åtgärder i förhållande till individens upplevda ansvar eller oro. Studien visar även på att majoriteten av användare tycker att ansvaret ligger hos tillverkarna och de flesta tycker inte att det är användaren i sig som bär på något ansvar för sin egen säkerhet. Majoriteten väljer att blint lita på tillverkarna i hopp om att deras data endast används till goda syften och gör därmed ingen research på egen hand. / This study examines the perceptions that users have regarding privacy, responsibility and security around their Smart TVs. The study analyzes who users consider to be responsible for security, whether it is the manufacturer who is responsible for it or whether other actors bear the responsibility. Furthermore, the paper examines related topics such as terms of use, automatic content recognition (ACR), dark patterns and the privacy paradox and connects these overlapping definitions to how these areas can affect users' views on the distribution of responsibilities and how they can have an impact on a user's actions. The survey primarily consists of a quantitative study. Through a survey sent out through social media, 187 respondents from different countries in Europe have had to answer who or who they think bears the responsibility for the integrity and security of the data collection that takes place by smart TVs. Furthermore, they have been told if they feel any concern about the data collection and if they have taken any measures to protect their privacy and security. As a complement to the survey study, a literature study has also been carried out in order to be able to connect the results of the study to existing theory. The study shows that existing theory is in line with the results of the survey. The study shows that there is no correlation between the individual's perception of responsibility, the individual's concern and how inclined the individual is to take action. This phenomenon is referred to in theory as the "integrity paradox", which means that individuals are not necessarily more inclined to take action in relation to the individual's perceived responsibility or concern. The study also shows that the majority of users think that the responsibility lies with the manufacturers and most do not think that it is the user themselves who bears any responsibility for their own safety. The majority choose to blindly trust the manufacturers in the hope that their data will only be used for good purposes and therefore does no research on their own.