Dataset Information

Impact of Privacy Messaging on COVID-19 Exposure Notification App Downloads: Evidence From a Randomized Experiment.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Digital contact-tracing smartphone apps have the potential to slow the spread of disease but are not widely used. We tested whether messages describing how a COVID-19 digital contact-tracing app protects users' privacy led to increased or decreased intentions to download the app by either calming privacy concerns or increasing their saliency.

Design

Randomized controlled trial.

Setting/participants

We recruited adult smartphone owners in the U.S. (oversampled for younger adults aged 18-34 years) in November 2020 through an online panel.

Intervention

Survey software randomly assigned 860 participants to 1 of 2 parallel messaging conditions (n=430 privacy assured, n=430 no privacy described).

Main outcome measures

4-point scale of intention to use the app "if public health officials released a COVID Exposure Notification app in their state" that averaged likelihood to (1) download and install the app on their phone; (2) keep the app active on their phone; and (3) keep Bluetooth active on their phone (needed for the app to work).

Results

After removing incompletes, those who failed the manipulation checks, or those who had already downloaded a COVID-19 digital contact-tracing app, we analyzed 671 participants (n=330 privacy, n=341 no privacy) in 2021. There was no relationship between privacy condition and download intention (mean_privacy=2.69, mean_noprivacy=2.69, b=0.01, 95% CI= -0.13, 0.15, p=0.922) but also no evidence that describing the app's security increased context-dependent privacy concerns (measured 3 ways). Instead, we found increased endorsement of data security in the privacy condition using a scale of beliefs about the app keeping privacy secure (mean_privacy=2.74, mean_noprivacy=2.58, b=0.16, 95% CI=0.04, 0.28, p=0.009, small effect ω²=0.009).

Conclusions

This study provides some evidence that people developing contact-tracing messaging campaigns do not need to worry that describing a digital contact-tracing app's privacy protections will backfire. Future mixed methods testing of messages about who has access to information-and for how long-may uncover new communication strategies to increase public trust in contact-tracing apps.

Trial registration

This study is registered with AsPredicted#51826.

SUBMITTER: Gibson LA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9771837 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Impact of Privacy Messaging on COVID-19 Exposure Notification App Downloads: Evidence From a Randomized Experiment.

Gibson Laura A LA Dixon Erica L EL Sharif Marissa A MA Rodriguez Anyara C AC Cappella Joseph N JN

AJPM focus 20221222 1

<h4>Introduction</h4>Digital contact-tracing smartphone apps have the potential to slow the spread of disease but are not widely used. We tested whether messages describing how a COVID-19 digital contact-tracing app protects users' privacy led to increased or decreased intentions to download the app by either calming privacy concerns or increasing their saliency.<h4>Design</h4>Randomized controlled trial.<h4>Setting/participants</h4>We recruited adult smartphone owners in the U.S. (oversampled f ...[more]

PMID: 36573173

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Dataset Information

Impact of Privacy Messaging on COVID-19 Exposure Notification App Downloads: Evidence From a Randomized Experiment.

Introduction

Design

Setting/participants

Intervention

Main outcome measures

Results

Conclusions

Trial registration

Publications

Impact of Privacy Messaging on COVID-19 Exposure Notification App Downloads: Evidence From a Randomized Experiment.

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