Individuals rely on digital messaging to form and maintain intimate relationships, trusting that the mediums through which they communicate are protective of their privacy. The screenshot feature revokes attempts to establish such trust. This tool allows individuals to capture and store pieces of a private conversation as a separate file on their device, rendering them usable and shareable with third parties. While the screenshot feature serves utilitarian purposes, this dissertation focuses on its ability to breach privacy expectations, termed within communication privacy management theory (CPM) as privacy turbulence.
This dissertation extends the scope of CPM beyond its interpersonal bounds, recognizing the power of platforms to create rules that users follow when making decisions about others' information. Experimental results suggest that blurring received messages upon use of the screenshot feature (i.e., obscurity) and creating an explicit confidentiality expectation (i.e., explicit privacy rule) significantly reduce screenshot collection and sharing, respectively. Additionally, reflections from participants reveal that many individuals are willing to compromise others’ privacy on digital messaging platforms while simultaneously expecting protection of their own.
Qualitative analysis of relevant case law and complaints/opinions from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reveal inconsistencies both within law and policy and as compared to empirical evidence. Judges have provided overly broad definitions of “authorization” and lofty thresholds to sustain individual harm, making statutory regulation of screenshot collection and sharing unlikely. However, guidance from the FTC demonstrates a more nuanced regulatory approach to privacy that recognizes the influence of platform design. Results from this study suggest that design-based strategies—both ex-ante and ex-post—would be a promising first step toward adjusting the norms around screenshot collection and sharing of digital messages.
Together, the results of this dissertation will inform policymakers and platform designers of the privacy harm enabled by the screenshot feature, providing tangible recommendations to create messaging platforms that are truly private. / 2026-03-08T00:00:00Z
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/48378 |
| Date | 08 March 2024 |
| Creators | Shore, Alexis |
| Contributors | Prena, Kelsey |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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