In the research area D.5, user experience and usability are of central importance. The scientific approach is divided into three main steps. In the first step, appropriate methods will be identified to assess and describe user intentions regarding privacy and trust. In the second step, factors that influence trust in automation (e.g., primarily AlterEgo) will be investigated. In the third step, the research basis for the development of AlterEgo will be elaborated. The main focus is on investigating user needs with regard to the transparency and trustworthiness of the AlterEgo.

Current PhD project of subarea D.5:

Psychological Needs in Personal Privacy Assistants (PPAs)

– Hahn, Sara –

User experience and usability are of central importance in research area D.5.

Therefore, in this project, the focus will be placed on user experience, more specifically the psychological needs of users.

Psychological needs can motivate users to use a product if fulfilled and haven’t been investigated in the context of Personal Privacy Assistants (PPAs) so far.

The goal is to generate an interdisciplinary framework for a need-sensitive PPA.

To achieve this, in the first step, an initial design space is explored from the users’ and experts’ perspectives.

Furthermore, an interdisciplinary literature review will establish a common understanding of PPAs between the disciplines of Law, Psychology, and Computer Science.

In the second step, the relationship between need fulfillment and trust will be investigated to gain a deeper insight into users’ adoption of privacy tools, like a PPA.

Combining these results with further mixed-methods research, the final step will involve the formulation of the interdisciplinary framework.

Previous PhD project of subarea D.5:

Different Perspectives on Privacy: Users`and Website Owners` View

-Alina Stöver-

Research Area D.5 deals with how users' intentions regarding privacy and trust can be identified and communicated. To achieve this goal, a deeper understanding of different user groups (privacy personas) will first be obtained with the help of a systematic literature review. Based on this, the communication of user intentions to an AlterEgo (Privacy Assistant Workshop) will be investigated using quantitative and qualitative methods. The dissertation project takes a multi-perspective approach to end-user privacy in order to show a more holistic picture. Therefore, in the second step, the perspective of privacy responsible actors (using Website Owner as an example) will be investigated. Again, the first aim is to create a deeper understanding of these actors in order to then evaluate a concrete support offering (notifications). By looking at these two perspectives together, we can understand where critical points of contact, common interests, and potential areas of tension lie between the two actors.