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Comparing user perceptions of anti-stalkerware apps with the technical reality
CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security, Germany.
CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security, Germany.
Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Computing Science.
TU Wien, Austria.
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2022 (English)In: Proceedings of the 18th Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS 2022), USENIX - The Advanced Computing Systems Association, 2022, p. 135-154Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Every year an increasing number of users face stalkerware on their phones [84]. Many of them are victims of intimate partner surveillance (IPS) who are unsure how to identify or remove stalkerware from their phones [49]. An intuitive approach would be to choose anti-stalkerware from the app store. However, a mismatch between user expectations and the technical capabilities can produce an illusion of security and risk compensation behavior (i.e., the Peltzmann effect). We compare users' perceptions of anti-stalkerware with the technical reality. First, we applied thematic analysis to app reviews to analyze user perceptions. Then, we performed a cognitive walkthrough of two prominent anti-stalkerware apps available on the Google Play Store and reverse-engineered them to understand their detection features. Our results suggest that users base their trust on the look and feel of the app, the number and type of alerts, and the apps' affordances. We also found that app capabilities do not correspond to the users' perceptions and expectations, impacting their practical effectiveness. We discuss different stakeholders' options to remedy these challenges and better align user perceptions with the technical reality.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
USENIX - The Advanced Computing Systems Association, 2022. p. 135-154
National Category
Human Computer Interaction
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-200892Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85140915762ISBN: 9781939133304 (electronic)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-200892DiVA, id: diva2:1710923
Conference
18th Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS 2022), Boston, USA, 7-9 August, 2022.
Available from: 2022-11-15 Created: 2022-11-15 Last updated: 2022-11-15Bibliographically approved

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Houy, Sabine

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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf