The advent of the Internet has led to vastly increased levels of data accessibility to both users and would-be attackers. The privacy paradox is an established phenomenon wherein users express concern about resultant security and privacy threats to their data, but nevertheless fail to enact the host of protective measures that have steadily become available. The precise nature of this phenomenon, however, is not a settled matter. Fortunately, risk communication theory, a discipline devoted to understanding the factors involved in risk-oriented decision-making and founded in years of empirical research in public health and disaster awareness domains, presents an opportunity to seek greater insight into this problem. In this dissertation, we explore the application of principles and techniques from risk communication theory to the question of factors in the grassroots adoption of secure communication technologies. First, we apply a fundamental first-step technique in risk communication—mental modeling—toward understanding users' perceptions of the structure, function, and utility of encryption in day-to-day life. Second, we apply principles of risk communication to system design by redesigning the authentication ceremony and its associated messaging in the Signal secure messaging application. Third, we evaluate the applicability of a core decision-making theory—protection motivation theory—toward the problem of secure email adoption, and then use this framework to describe the relative impact of various factors on secure email adoption. Finally, we evaluate perceptions of risk and response with respect to the adoption of secure email features in email scenarios of varying sensitivity levels. Our work identifies positive outcomes with respect to the impact that risk messaging has on feature adoption, and mixed results with respect to comprehension. We highlight obstacles to users' mental interactions with encryption, but offer recommendations for progress in the adoption of encryption. We further demonstrate that protection motivation theory, a core behavioral theory underlying many risk communication approaches, has the ability to explain the factors involved in users' decisions to adopt or not adopt in a way that can at least partially explain the privacy paradox phenomenon. In general, we find that the application of even basic principles and techniques from risk communication theory do indeed produce favorable research outcomes when applied to this domain.

Through its growing popularity, social media platforms have become influential in our society. Data tracking allows social media platforms to continue providing free and personalized services. Scholars and professionals have argued that data tracking can be harmful to individual privacy and can be used to change peoples’ behaviour without them being aware of this. This thesis focusses on how millennials deal with data tracking dilemmas in their social media use. As digital natives, millennials have grown up in a digital society, and therefor are often suggested to have a unique perspective on issues such as data tracking. This study is focused on why millennials use social media platforms, what dilemmas they identify regarding data tracking, how millennials act upon these dilemmas and how millennials reflect on their own behaviour compared to that of other generations. Based on 16 semi-structured interviews and 4 focus groups, this thesis relates the behaviour of Dutch millennials regarding data tracking and social media use to theories such as mediatization, platformization, the privacy paradox and media generations. This thesis finds that besides communication, entertainment and social engagement are also deeply shaped by mediatization and platformization. The participants identified three interrelated aspects of the privacy dilemma: the filter bubble, monetization and power. In acting upon these dilemmas, the behaviour of some participants confirms the notion of the privacy paradox. However, another group of participants indicated that they do not experience the dilemmas as such, and therefore do not act upon them. A last group of participants shared that they have found multiple ways in which to act upon the dilemmas they identify. This study thus concludes that the privacy paradox seems more nuanced than its conceptualization, because the participants find ways to deal with the dilemmas they identify.

A gap, known as the privacy paradox, often exists between peoples' privacy concerns and the actions they take to protect their privacy. This thesis investigates how a small sample of undergraduate students perceive their online privacy, the measures they take to protect their online privacy, and the reasons for their action/inaction. In so doing, it seeks to ascertain whether the findings of Hinds et al.'s (2020) regarding Facebook users' perceptions of online privacy issues are replicable among a sample of undergraduate students who are regular users of Instagram. Interviews with 20 undergraduate students were conducted to gather information about their online privacy concerns, their attitudes toward social media platforms collecting their information, and the privacy protection strategies they employ. The findings suggest that in enacting protection strategies, the participants delineate between both social and institutional conceptions of privacy, and the notion of privacy as a right requiring protecting versus viewing privacy as a negotiable commodity. This, in turn, suggests a possible need to re-consider how privacy-related education is approached as well as privacy policy.

Technological innovations and advancements are helping people gain an increasingly comfortable life, as well as expand their social capital through online networks by offering individual's new opportunities to share personal information. By collecting vast amounts of data a whole new range of services can be offered, information can be collected and compared, and a new level of individualization can be reached. However, with these new technical capacities comes the omnipresence of various devices gathering data, potential threats to privacy, and individuals' increasing concern over data privacy. This paper aims to shed light on the 'privacy paradox' phenomenon, the dichotomy between privacy attitude, concern, and behavior, by examining previous literature as well as using an online survey (N=463). The findings indicate that there is a difference between attitude, concern, and actual behavior. While individuals' value their data privacy and are concerned about information collected on them, few take action to protect it and actions rarely align with expressed concerns. However, the 'privacy paradox' is a complex phenomenon and it requires further research, especially with the implications of a data driven society and when introducing emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things. / Tekniska innovationer och framsteg har bidragit till att människor kan erbjudas en alltmer bekväm livsstil. Genom insamling av stora mängder data kan individer erbjudas ett helt nytt utbud av tjänster, information kan samlas in och jämföras, och en helt ny nivå av Individualisering kan uppnås. Dock innebär dessa innovationer enallt större närvaro av datainsamlandeenheter, potentiella hot mot privatliv, samt individers ökade oro kring dataintegritet. Denna uppsats undersöker "the privacy paradox", skillnaden mellan attityd och beteende kring datasäkerhet, och dess konsekvenser i ett datastyrt samhälle i och med att ny teknik introduceras. Undersökningen har skett genom en litteraturstudie samt en enkätundersökning (N=463) och resultaten visar på ett det finns en skillnad mellan attityd och beteende. Individer värderar datasäkerhet och är oroliga kring vilken mängd information som samlas in, dock är det få som agerar för att inte dela information och attityd går sällan i linje med faktiskt beteende. "The privacy paradox" är ett komplext fenomen och mer forskning krävs, speciellt i och med introduktion av ny teknik så som Artificiell intelligens och Internet of Things.

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Mängden datainsamling växer snabbt i dagens informationssamhälle. I takt med attwebbinnehavare samlar in allt mer personlig information om internetanvändare, harkontroverser om integritet och negativa attityder uppkommit. Trots dessa kontroverser hartidigare forskning visat att internetanvändare tenderar att ignorera försiktighetsåtgärder för attskydda deras integritet. Denna skillnad mellan attityd och beteende beskrivs som "the privacyparadox". Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka “the privacy paradox” och de faktorersom påverkar fenomenen med avseende på personligt riktad annonsering. En konceptuellmodell med olika relationer konstruerades, baserat på tidigare forskning. Komponenterna imodellen inkluderade följande faktorer: tillit, upplevd risk, generell integritetsoro, upplevdfördel, avsett beteende och faktiskt beteende. För att utvärdera modellen genomfördes enenkätstudie (N = 107). Den insamlade datans resultat analyserades med hjälp av univariatstatistik, bivariat statistik och i slutändan användes PLS-SEM-metoder för multivariatstatistik. Resultaten bevisade att det finns en påtaglig skillnad mellan internetanvändareuttryckta attityd och beteende, vilket inte kunde förklaras av demografiska variabler.Dessutom visade resultaten att påverkansfaktorerna hade en positiv effekt på attityd ochbeteende. Genom att tolka dessa resultat drog vi slutsatsen att upplevd risk och tillit har enpositiv effekt på generell integritetsoro. Följaktligen har integritetsoro och upplevd fördel enpositiv effekt på avsett beteende, vilket i sin tur har en positiv effekt på faktiskt beteende. / The amount of data collection is growing rapidly in today’s information society. As thecollection of personal information by web holders increases, controversies about privacy andnegative attitudes have occurred among web users. Despite this, previous research has shownthat web users tend to ignore precautions in order to protect their privacy. This differencebetween attitude and behavior is described as “the privacy paradox”. The aim of this study isto investigate the privacy paradox and the influencing factors of the phenomena, with regardsto personally targeted advertisement. A conceptual model with various relationships wasconstructed, based on previous research. Components of the model included the followingfactors: trust, perceived risk, privacy concerns, perceived benefits, behavioral intention andactual behavior. In order to evaluate the model, a survey was conducted (N = 107). Thesurvey’s results were analyzed by using univariate statistics, bivariate statistics and ultimatelyPLS-SEM methods were applied for the multivariate statistics. The results proved that thereis indeed a difference between web user’s expressed attitude and behavior, which could notbe explained by demographic variables. Furthermore, the results indicated that theinfluencing factors had a positive effect on attitude and behavior. By interpreting theseresults, we concluded that perceived risk and trust have a positive effect on privacy concerns.Furthermore, privacy concerns and perceived benefits have a positive effect on behavioralintention, which in turn has a positive effect on actual behavior.

I en tid där digitaliseringen är mer utbredd än någonsin ökar också mängden data som samlas och delas online. I takt med att nya tekniker utvecklas öppnas det upp för nya utmaningar för integritetsfrågor. En aktiv användare online ägnar sig med största sannolikhet också åt ett eller flera sociala medier, där ändamålen ofta innebär att dela med sig av information till andra. Eftersom tekniken Augmented Reality används mer frekvent i några av de största sociala medieapplikationerna blev studiens syfte att undersöka potentiella integritetsproblem med Augmented Reality. Studiens tillvägagångssätt har bestått av en empirisk datainsamling för att skapa ett teoretiskt ramverk för studien. Utifrån detta har det genomförts en digital enkät samt intervjuer för att närmare undersöka användarens beteende online och The Privacy Paradox. Utifrån undersökningens resultat kunde The Privacy Paradox bekräftas och ge en bättre förståelse för hur användaren agerar genom digitala kanaler. I studien behandlas olika aspekter kring integritetsfrågor såsom användarvillkor, sekretessavtal, datamäklare, framtida konsekvenser och vad tekniken möjliggör. Studien kommer fram till att användare, företaget och dagens teknik tillåter att en känsligare information kan utvinnas genom ett dataintrång. Även om det ännu inte har inträffat ett dataintrång som grundat sig i Augmented Reality före denna studie, finns det en risk att det endast handlar om en tidsfråga innan detta sker. / In a time when digitalization is more widespread than ever, the amount of data collected and shared is increasing. As new technologies develop, challenges for privacy concerns arises. An active online user is likely to engage in one or many social media platforms, where the purpose often involves sharing information with others. Since Augmented Reality is more frequently supported in some of the biggest social media applications, the purpose of this study was to investigate potential privacy concerns with Augmented Reality. The study’s approach consisted of an empirical data collection to create a theoretical framework for the study. Based on this, a digital survey and interviews were conducted to further investigate the user's behavior online and The Privacy Paradox. Based on the results of the survey, The Privacy Paradox could be confirmed and a better understanding of how the user interacts through digital channels was achieved. The study treats different aspects of privacy concerns such as user terms, privacy policies, data brokers, future consequences and what technology enables. The study reached the conclusion that users, businesses and today's technology allow a more sensitive type of information to be collected through a data breach. Even if there has not yet occurred a data breach enabled by Augmented Reality prior to this study, there is a risk that it is only a matter of time until this happens.

Genom digitalisering av samhället och teknologins utveckling har marknadsföringsstrategier progressivt reformerats, från att uppmärksamma produkter mot konsumenten till att istället sätta konsumenten i fokus. Genom avancerade algoritmer, Business Intelligence och digitala DNA spår har det blivit möjligt att individualisera och rikta marknadsföring mot konsumentens intressen och även förutse individens konsumentbeteende. Samtidigt uttrycker individer ett stort värde för anonymitet och integritet online. Trots detta fortsätter konsumenter att frivilligt att lämna sin persondata, främst via olika kundklubbar, internet och sociala medier. Detta beteende påvisar en så kallad “privacy paradox”. Privacy paradox syftar på medvetenhet och oro kring utgivandet av persondata samtidigt som man agerar annorlunda. Avsikten med denna studie var att utforska om fenomenet privacy paradox existerar inom svenska konsumenters handlingar och konsumentens medvetenhet kring användning av personlig data för riktad marknadsföring online. Det empiriska materialet i denna studie består av semi-strukturerade intervjuer med sju olika respondenter gällande deras medvetenhet, tillit och integritet online. Resultatet analyserades med hjälp av den tematiska strategin för att lättare identifiera beetendemönster som respondenterna utgav. Slutligen besvaras fenomenet privacy paradox hos svenska konsumenter genom tre forskningsfrågor 1.​“Hur medvetna är svenska konsumenter om den information som de delar med sig av, i synnerhet inom riktad marknadsföring?” 2.​“Hur mycket värnar svenska konsumenter om sin integritet?” ​3.​“ Påvisar svenska konsumenter privacy paradox och varför?”. Majoriteten av respondenterna var medvetna om personliga uppgifter online, dock varierade medvetenheten om vad för information som fanns tillgänglig både för privata användare och verksamheter. Man sa sig även värna om sin integritet men ens handlingar stödde inte detta till fullo. Med hjälp av denna studie fann man att fenomenet privacy paradox existerar hos de svenska konsumenter som deltog under denna studie. Anledningar till dessa var bland annat att man inte vill bli exkluderad från samhället och det kognitiva förtroendet till verksamheter. Man litar på att de gör rätt för sig. Värnande om integritet visades då genom att man minskade mängden personinformation som andra privatpersoner kunde komma åt. En annan anledning som uppkom var svårigheten i att bryta vanor och beteendemönster. Därför fortsätter man agera på samma sätt som tidigare, trots ny kunskap samt GDPR. Respondenter hade olika nivåer av förståelse riktad marknadsföring. Det majoriteten inte var medvetna om var mängden av lagrad information samt hur den samlas in t.ex. genom cookies. / Through digitalisation of the society and the technological development, the marketing strategies has progressively been reformed. From mainly giving attention to the product towards the consumers to instead place the consumer in the center of attention. Subsequently advanced algorithms, Business Intelligence and digital DNA tracing has enabled individualisation and target marketing, for the interest of the consumer, this also gave access to predict consumer behaviour. Meanwhile individuals put a big value on anonymity and integrity online. Despite this consumers keep sharing their data voluntary, primarily through customer clubs, the internet and social media. This behaviour demonstrates a so called “privacy paradox”. Privacy paradox refers consumers awareness and concern about sharing personal data, while still sharing their information. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the phenomenon of privacy paradox exists in Swedish consumers actions and the consumer’s awareness of the use of personal data for targeted online marketing. The empirical material in this study exists of semi-structured interviews with 7 different respondents regarding their consciousness, trust and integrity online. The results were analyzed through the thematic strategy to easily identify behavioural patterns that the respondents showed. Lastly, the phenomenon of privacy paradox in Swedish consumers is answered through three research questions 1. ​“How aware are Swedish consumers regarding the information they share, particularly in target marketing? ​2. ​“How much does the Swedish consumer care about their integrity?” ​3. ​“Does the Swedish consumer show privacy paradox and why?”. The majority of the respondents were aware that personal information exists online. The awareness regarding what kind of information that is available for both private users and organisations varied. While respondents mentioned that they want to protect their privacy, their actions proved otherwise. With the help of this study, we could conclude that the phenomenon named privacy paradox exists through the information gathered from the swedish consumers that participated in this study. Reasons being the willingness to not be excluded from society and the cognitive trust towards organizations. You trust that they do the right thing. Respondents protected privacy by reducing the amount of personal information other individuals could access. Another reason that was brought up was the difficulty in changing habits and behaviour. Therefore respondents continued doing the same things as before, despite new knowledge and GDPR. Respondents showed different levels of understanding regarding targeted marketing. However the majority was not aware of the amount of stored information and how it is collected, for example through cookies.

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to explain and to create an understanding if personalized advertising online creates value for customers.  Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative study through 14 semi-structured interviews.  Findings: The study found personalized advertising to be seen as value co-creation in some cases, but because privacy concerns exist and affect the perception of advertising, it can in many cases lead to value co-destruction instead. It is thus a consideration between privacy concerns and the perceived value of the personalized advertising that decides if the offering will co-create or co-destroy value.  Research limitations/implications for future research: Our study did not involve respondents’ younger than 21 years old, which could have affected the result as this is a generation seen as technology savvy. Through a quantitative study, future research could try to find extremes in personalities by conducting a survey with a large sample of people in different ages, nationalities, gender, active online, etc. in order to see if there are correlations between for example age and privacy concerns.  Practical implications: One purpose of the study is to provide companies with insights of how different customers perceive personalized advertising online in terms of customer value in order for companies to know how to think when targeting their customers.  Keywords: online advertising, personalized advertising, personalized-privacy paradox, privacy concerns, value creation, value co-creation, value co-destruction.

Increasingly, online social media networks allow users to use geotagging. This method of adding location data to various content shared in real time has introduced privacy related issues and threats to the users of such networks. Previous research present opposing findings on whether users actually care about their location privacy or not, and it has also been shown that users often display a behaviour inconsistent with their concerns. When asked, users tend to report high privacy concerns, but in contrast, they will then not let their privacy concerns affect or limit their behaviour online; the privacy paradox is a description of this dichotomy. The problem, however, is not only that location privacy seems to be a paradoxical issue; the sharing of location data provides users with new possibilities that can potentially have negative consequences for them, such as someone else being able to identify one’s identity, home location, habits or other sensitive information. Social media network users communicate that a part of this is due to the lack of control over which information they share, with whom and where.This study employs a qualitative method, using unstructured interviews in a pre-study and a self-completion questionnaire. The purpose of the study is to examine and gain a better understanding of how the privacy paradox can help to better explain users’ location data disclosure preferences in the context of social media networking, and to help social media network developers in order to reduce privacy-related issues in social media networking applications with geotagging capabilities. The findings indicate that the paradox indeed is evident in user’s stated geotagging behaviour, and that users are slightly more worried about their location privacy than their overall online privacy. The conclusions offer a couple of different explanations for the paradox, and we argue that the contradiction of the paradox can be seen as a constant trade-off between benefits and risks of geotagging. We also give some examples of such advantages and disadvantages.