Privacy Perceptions and Behaviors of Google Personal Account Holders in Saudi Arabia | SpringerLink
Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Privacy Perceptions and Behaviors of Google Personal Account Holders in Saudi Arabia

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
HCI for Cybersecurity, Privacy and Trust (HCII 2024)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 14728))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 446 Accesses

Abstract

While privacy perceptions and behaviors have been investigated in Western societies, little is known about these issues in non-Western societies. To bridge this gap, we interviewed 30 Google personal account holders in Saudi Arabia about their privacy perceptions and behaviors regarding the activity data that Google saves about them. Our study focuses on Google’s Activity Controls, which enable users to control whether, and how, Google saves their Web & App Activity, Location History, and YouTube History. Our results show that although most participants have some level of awareness about Google’s data practices and the Activity Controls, many have only vague awareness, and the majority have not used the available controls. When participants viewed their saved activity data, many were surprised by what had been saved. While many participants find Google’s use of their data to improve the services provided to them acceptable, the majority find the use of their data for ad purposes unacceptable. We observe that our Saudi participants exhibit similar trends and patterns in privacy awareness, attitudes, preferences, concerns, and behaviors to what has been found in studies in the US. Our results emphasize the need for: 1) improved techniques to inform users about privacy settings during account sign-up, to remind users about their settings, and to raise awareness about privacy settings; 2) improved privacy setting interfaces to reduce the costs that deter many users from changing the settings; and 3) further research to explore privacy concerns in non-Western cultures.

Eman Alashwali was a Collaborating Visitor at CMU while working on this paper.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
¥17,985 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
JPY 3498
Price includes VAT (Japan)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
JPY 16015
Price includes VAT (Japan)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
JPY 20019
Price includes VAT (Japan)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. 1.

    Although this point was mentioned only by a pilot participant, we believe it is a reason worth surfacing.

  2. 2.

    An additional participant said “yes” to this questions, but missed Sect. 4.4’s questions due to an error.

  3. 3.

    This question was added after P1 interview was done. Thus, 29/30 participants were asked this question.

References

  1. Almuhimedi, H., et al.: Your location has been shared 5,398 times! A field study on mobile app privacy nudging. In: Proceedings of CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 787–796 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  2. AlSagri, H.S., AlAboodi, S.S.: Privacy awareness of online social networking in Saudi Arabia. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Cyber Situational Awareness, Data Analytics and Assessment (CyberSA), pp. 1–6 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Balebako, R., Jung, J., Lu, W., Cranor, L.F., Nguyen, C.: “Little brothers watching you”: raising awareness of data leaks on smartphones. In: Proceedings of Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS), pp. 1–11 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Brave Software, Inc.: Brave Browser (2022). https://brave.com. Accessed 15 Nov 2022

  5. Brignull, H.: Deceptive Design (2013). https://www.deceptive.design. Accessed 14 Nov 2022

  6. Brooks, J., King, N.: Doing Template Analysis: Evaluating an End of Life Care Service. SAGE Research Methods Cases Part 1 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Chen, Y., et al.: Demystifying hidden privacy settings in mobile apps. In: Proceedings of IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (SP), pp. 570–586 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Colnago, J., Cranor, L.F., Acquisti, A.: Is there a reverse privacy paradox? An exploratory analysis of gaps between privacy perspectives and privacy-seeking behaviors. Priv. Enh. Technol. (PoPETS) 3(1), 455–476 (2023)

    Google Scholar 

  9. DuckDuckGo: DuckDuckGo (2022). https://duckduckgo.com. Accessed 25 May 2022

  10. Ellison, N.B., Steinfield, C., Lampe, C.: The benefits of facebook “friends:” social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. J. Comput.-Mediat. Commun. 12, 1143–1168 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Farke, F.M., Balash, D.G., Golla, M., Dürmuth, M., Aviv, A.J.: Are privacy dashboards good for end users? Evaluating user perceptions and reactions to Google’s my activity. In: USENIX Security Symposium, pp. 483–500 (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Felt, A.P., Ha, E., Egelman, S., Haney, A., Chin, E., Wagner, D.: Android permissions: user attention, comprehension, and behavior. In: Proceedings of Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS), pp. 1–14 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  13. General Authority for Statistics (GAS): Statistical Year Book - Chapter 01 \(|\) Population & Demography (2019). https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/1007-0. Accessed 19 Aug 2023

  14. General Authority for Statistics (GAS): Statistical Year Book - Chapter 04 \(|\) Education and Training (2019). https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/1010-0. Accessed 19 Aug 2023

  15. General Authority for Statistics (GAS): Statistical Year Book - Chapter 15 \(|\) Technology and Communication (2019). https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/1021. Accessed 22 Aug 2023

  16. Germain, T.: Google Settings Still Confusing After \$85 Million Lawsuit Over How Confusing They Were (2022). https://gizmodo.com/google-location-history-setting-confusing-settlement-1849619287. Accessed 23 Nov 2022

  17. GMI Blogger: Saudi Arabia Social Media Statistics 2022 (2022). https://www.globalmediainsight.com/blog/saudi-arabia-social-media-statistics/. Accessed 3 July 2022

  18. Google: Google (2021). https://google.com

  19. Google: Browse in Private (2022). https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95464?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform=Android. Accessed 25 May 2022

  20. Google: The Google Phone (2022). https://pixel.google. Accessed 12 Oct 2022

  21. Green, M.: Why I’m Done With Chrome (2018). https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2018/09/23/why-im-leaving-chrome. Accessed 15 July 2022

  22. Gross, R., Acquisti, A.: Information revelation and privacy in online social networks. In: Proceedings of ACM Workshop on Privacy in the Electronic Society, pp. 71–80 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Habib, H., et al.: “It’s a Scavenger Hunt”: usability of websites’ opt-out and data deletion choices. In: Proceedings of CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1–12 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Habib, H., Pearman, S., Young, E., Saxena, I., Zhang, R., Cranor, L.F.: Identifying user needs for advertising controls on Facebook. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 6(CSCW1), 1–42 (2022)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Haque, E.U., Khan, M.M.H., Fahim, M.A.A.: The nuanced nature of trust and privacy control adoption in the context of Google. In: Proceedings of CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (2023)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Haselton, T.: How to Find Out What Google Knows About You and Limit the Data it Collects (2017). https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/20/what-does-google-know-about-me.html. Accessed 22 July 2022

  27. Heyman, R., De Wolf, R., Pierson, J.: Evaluating social media privacy settings for personal and advertising purposes. Info 16(4), 18–32 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Jung, J., Han, S., Wetherall, D.: Short paper: enhancing mobile application permissions with runtime feedback and constraints. In: Proceedings of Workshop on Security and Privacy in Smartphones and Mobile Devices, pp. 45–50 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Kang, C.: Google Agrees to \$392 Million Privacy Settlement With 40 States (2022). https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/technology/google-privacy-settlement.html. Accessed 23 Nov 2022

  30. KAU: King Abdulaziz University (2023). https://kau.edu.sa/Home.aspx

  31. Kemp, S.: Digital 2022: Saudi Arabia (2022). https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2022-saudi-arabia. Accessed 3 July 2022

  32. Kerns, T.: Gmail Now has More than 1.5 Billion Active Users (2018). https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/10/26/gmail-now-1-5-billion-active-users. Accessed 19 Oct 2022

  33. Khan, M.T., Hyun, M., Kanich, C., Ur, B.: Forgotten but not gone: identifying the need for longitudinal data management in cloud storage. In: Proceedings of CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1–12 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  34. King, N.: Template Analysis (2022). https://research.hud.ac.uk/research-subjects/human-health/template-analysis/. Accessed 26 June 2022

  35. Lau, J., Zimmerman, B., Schaub, F.: Alexa, are you listening? Privacy perceptions, concerns and privacy-seeking behaviors with smart speakers. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 2(CSCW), 1–31 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  36. LinkedIn: LinkedIn (2022). https://www.linkedin.com. Accessed 11 Oct 2022

  37. Liu, Y., Gummadi, K.P., Krishnamurthy, B., Mislove, A.: Analyzing Facebook privacy settings: user expectations vs. reality. In: Proceedings of the ACM SIGCOMM Conference on Internet Measurement Conference, pp. 61–70 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  38. Madejski, M., Johnson, M., Bellovin, S.M.: A study of privacy settings errors in an online social network. In: Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communications Workshops, pp. 340–345 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  39. Malkin, N., Deatrick, J., Tong, A., Wijesekera, P., Egelman, S., Wagner, D.: Privacy attitudes of smart speaker users. Priv. Enh. Technol. (PoPETS) 4, 250–271 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  40. McDonald, N., Schoenebeck, S., Forte, A.: Reliability and inter-rater reliability in qualitative research: norms and guidelines for CSCW and HCI practice. Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 3(CSCW), 1–23 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  41. Meenagh, B., Tucker, L.: Saudi Arabia’s Data Protection Law Enters into Force (2023). https://www.lw.com/en/offices/admin/upload/SiteAttachments/Saudi-Arabias-data-protection-law-enters-into-force.pdf

  42. Meta: Facebook (2022). https://facebook.com. Accessed 11 Oct 2022

  43. Mozilla: Private Browsing (2022). https://support.mozilla.org. Accessed 25 May 2022

  44. Nissenbaum, H.: Privacy as contextual integrity. Wash. L. Rev. 79(1), 119–157 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  45. OPEC: Saudi Arabia Facts and Figures (2021). https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/169.htm. Accessed 12 Jan 2021

  46. Piriform Software Ltd: CCleaner (2022). https://www.ccleaner.com/. Accessed 25 May 2022

  47. Ramokapane, K.M., Mazeli, A.C., Rashid, A.: Skip, skip, skip, accept!!!: A study on the usability of smartphone manufacturer provided default features and user privacy. Priv. Enhanc. Technol. (PoPETS) 2019(2), 209–227 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  48. Rashidi, Y., Vaniea, K., Camp, L.J.: Understanding Saudis’ privacy concerns when using WhatsApp. In: Proceedings of Usable Security and Privacy (USEC) (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  49. Read It Later, Inc: Pocket (2021). https://getpocket.com. Accessed 25 May 2022

  50. Shih, F., Liccardi, I., Weitzner, D.: Privacy tipping points in smartphones privacy preferences. In: Proceedings of CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 807–816 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  51. Sotirakopoulos, A., Hawkey, K., Beznosov, K.: On the challenges in usable security lab studies: lessons learned from replicating a study on SSL warnings. In: Proceedings of Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS), pp. 1–18 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  52. Stutzman, F., Grossy, R., Acquisti, A.: Silent listeners: the evolution of privacy and disclosure on Facebook. J. Priv. Confidentiality 4(2), 7–41 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  53. Twitter, Inc.: Twitter (2022). https://twitter.com. Accessed 11 Oct 2022

  54. Wang, Y., Leon, P.G., Acquist, A., Cranor, L.F., Forget, A., Sadeh, N.: A field trial of privacy nudges for Facebook. In: Proceedings of CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 2367–2376 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  55. WhatsApp LLC: WhatsApp (2022). https://www.whatsapp.com. Accessed 11 Oct 2022

  56. Wikipedia: Saudi Arabia (2021). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia. Accessed 11 Mar 2021

  57. Willis, L.E.: Why not privacy by default? Berkeley Tech. LJ 29(4), 1–57 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  58. Zeng, E., Mare, S., Roesner, F.: End user security & privacy concerns with smart homes. In: Proceedings of Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS), pp. 65–80 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  59. Zheng, S., Apthorpe, N., Chetty, M., Feamster, N.: User perceptions of smart home IoT privacy. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 2(CSCW), 1–20 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  60. Zoom: Zoom (2022). https://zoom.us. Accessed 11 Oct 2022

Download references

Acknowledgment

Eman Alashwali acknowledges the financial support of the Ibn Rushd Program at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). We thank Reema Bamakhramah and Sara Alashwali for their help in transcribing the interviews. We especially thank the three pilot participants for their valuable feedback. We thank all the participants for their time and valuable insights.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Eman Alashwali

  2. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

    Eman Alashwali

  3. Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Pittsburgh, USA

    Lorrie Cranor

Authors
  1. Eman Alashwali
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lorrie Cranor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eman Alashwali .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. San Jose State University, San Jose, CA, USA

    Abbas Moallem

Appendices

Appendices

A Summary of Our Qualitative Analysis Themes for Privacy Awareness, Attitudes, Concerns, and Behaviors

Fig. 1.
figure 1

Summery of themes for privacy awareness, attitudes, concerns, and behaviors distilled from our qualitative data.

Full size image

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Alashwali, E., Cranor, L. (2024). Privacy Perceptions and Behaviors of Google Personal Account Holders in Saudi Arabia. In: Moallem, A. (eds) HCI for Cybersecurity, Privacy and Trust. HCII 2024. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14728. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-61379-1_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-61379-1_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-61378-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-61379-1

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation