Apps and personal data: Trust in digital technologies

In August 2024, 320 Austrians were asked about their willingness to grant a messenger app access to their contacts on behalf of the Im-Fokus Report for m.core/WU Vienna. The survey investigated what thoughts and feelings were triggered by downloading a fictitious app called ChitChat, particularly in relation to the handling of personal data.

How do age and gender influence the willingness to share data?

The study makes it clear that the willingness to allow an app to access contacts is strongly dependent on age. Older participants were significantly less inclined to grant this access (r = -0.258, p = .012). Interestingly, however, respondents believe that other people in similar situations are more willing to share their data. On average, participants stated that they granted the app access to their data 40.3% of the time, while they believed that others did so significantly more often (58.74%).

The survey also revealed significant differences between the genders. Men reported that they allowed access to their contacts more often in the past (44.47%) than women (36.15%).

Another key finding was that participants felt they had more right to control their saved contacts than the person the contact related to. This perception was strong (t(319) = 12.587, p < .001) and shows that the protection of personal data is a high priority.

The results of the survey show that trust in the handling of personal data depends heavily on individual and demographic factors such as age and gender. Particularly noteworthy is the discrepancy between the actual willingness to share data and the perception of how others handle it.

The survey was answered by 320 participants (50.6% female, 49.1% male, 0.3% diverse), with an average age of 43.40 years (standard deviation 13.93).

You can find the full study in German here!

published:30.09.24