Considering smartphones: User attitudes towards privacy and trust in location-aware applications

This paper begins an exploration of some of these issues using a stated preference and self-reported behavior survey of US-based smartphone users in order to generate an understanding of underlying issues that may impact the quality and quantity of data collected through these technologies.

Abstract

The rapid adoption of smartphones and the location-sensing applications for which they provide a platform has provided scope for efficient and dispersed collection of location information that may be beneficial to the field of transportation. The quality and comprehensiveness of such data, however, depend in large part on the attitudes of users towards these applications, their trust in the application developers and data users, and their practices relative to these applications in the context of their personal use. In this paper, the authors initiate an exploration of some of these issues using a stated preference and self-reported behavior survey of US-based smartphone users in order to generate an understanding of underlying issues that may impact the quality and quantity of data collected through these technologies.