Graphical Representation of Online Privacy Risks Within Trusted Contexts

I finished my Masters degree at the University of Guelph over a year ago, but somehow it slipped my mind to get the final thesis document posted online.

Abstract:

This thesis is an investigation of the use of graphical privacy indicators to represent online privacy risks in trusted contexts. Results indicate that the use of graphical privacy indicators as used in this thesis may not have an effect on an individual’s investigation into their privacy risks, or on the amount of data an individual is willing to submit. Most participants chose to ignore the availability of further information about risks to their privacy, while also choosing to submit confidential information. These results indicate that graphical representation of privacy risks as used in this thesis may not be not an appropriate method of communication for privacy-aware user agents, and that other methods of communication and graphical representation should be investigated.