New research conducted by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy, in collaboration with Utrecht University, University of Michigan, and the University of Washington, has identified that privacy notices often exploit users' cognitive biases and fail to provide vital information.
This study, which focused on the impact of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on web users, revealed the majority of participants continue to feel uninformed about online data practices. Participants expressed concerns over the lack of transparency in how their data is stored and used, as well as a lack of clarity regarding the language used in privacy notices. Participants also reported feeling manipulated into sharing their data, particularly concerning advertising purposes.
The study recommends introducing consent nutrition labels to improve user interaction with privacy notices and transparency. It also suggests leveraging better UI design, icons, and colours to make the information-finding process more accessible and less time-consuming for users.
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