Overcoming User Resistance in Location Data Sharing

We investigate whether and how sustainability and financial incentives encourage ethical location data sharing. Our results show that users do not share their location data for the sake of sustainability. Nevertheless, we find that financial incentives increase data sharing rates modestly. Thus, when asking for data sharing in a transparent and ethical manner, privacy concerns seem to increase and reduce actual data sharing rates.

Concerns about privacy have become a significant issue for many individuals, especially when it comes to sharing personal data such as location information. People worry about how their data is used, stored, and also potentially misused. At the same time, the rapid advancements in data science have highlighted the immense benefits that can be achieved when personal data is shared responsibly. These benefits extend to individuals, organizations, and society as a whole. Recognizing this tension, we set out to explore how users can be encouraged to share their location data in ways that align with ethical standards and foster trust in this project which is financed as part of the Strategic Thematic Field Human Digital Transformation of the Bern University of Applied Sciences.

We began by conducting a systematic review of existing research on the factors that influence users’ willingness to share location data. Our review revealed two promising enablers: sustainability and financial incentives. These factors stood out as potentially effective ways to motivate data sharing. However, we noted a significant gap in the existing literature: most studies focused on users’ intentions to share data rather than their actual behavior. This distinction is important, as intentions do not always translate into actions.

To address this gap, we designed an experiment to test whether sustainability and/or financial incentives could effectively encourage users to share their location data. For our study, we partnered with the POSMO platform, an innovative cooperative that collects location and mobility data while adhering to strict ethical guidelines. The platform’s transparent and user-centric approach made it an ideal partner for our research.

We recruited participants from the Bern University of Applied Sciences, including 300 students from the Business School and 120 students from the School of Engineering and Computer Science. These participants were divided into four groups:

1. Control Group: Participants in this group were not offered any incentives for sharing their data.
2. Sustainability Group: Participants in this group were informed that their shared location data would be used to promote green mobility initiatives and to reduce students’ university-commuting CO2 emissions
3. Financial Incentive Group: Participants in this group were promised a 25 CHF TWINT voucher as a reward for sharing their location data.
4. Combined Incentive Group: Participants in this group were informed that their shared location data would be used to promote green mobility initiatives and to reduce students’ university-commuting CO2 emissions. In addition, this group was promised a 25 CHF TWINT voucher as a reward for sharing their location data.

In total, 135 participants completed the initial survey. However, only 72 of them progressed far enough to see the link to the location data sharing platform, where the different incentives were presented. Of these, just 52 participants completed the manipulation check to confirm they understood the incentives offered, and only 45 answered the check correctly. The actual rates of data sharing were even lower: only 13 participants signed up to share their location data on the POSMO platform (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Overall data sharing rate.

The results of our study are striking. In the control group, which received no incentives, not a single participant signed up to share their data. Similarly, only one participant from the sustainability incentive group signed up. In contrast, the financial incentive group and the combined incentive group each saw six participants sharing their location data. Figure 2 graphically depicts these results.

Figure 2: Number of respondents who shared their data split by treatment groups.

Our findings entail several important insights:

1. Ethically Motivating Data Sharing is Challenging: Despite our efforts to design compelling incentives, the overall rates of data sharing were very low. This underscores the difficulty of convincing users to share personal data when employing a transparent and ethical manner.
2. Sustainability Incentives are Not Working: Although sustainability is often seen as a priority for younger generations, this interest did not translate into a willingness to share location data. Our findings stemming from a student sample mostly representing the Generation Z show that privacy concerns outweigh environmental motivations when it comes to sharing sensitive information like location data.
3. Even Financial Incentives have Limited Impact: While financial rewards did slightly increase location data sharing rates, the effect was modest. This indicates that monetary incentives alone may not be enough to overcome users’ privacy concerns.

These findings have important implications for organizations and policymakers seeking to build trust and foster participation in the location data economy. Our results suggest that current business models need to evolve to better address users’ concerns about privacy. Policy makers, instead, should ensure the implementation of ethical and transparent data sharing guidelines so that companies can no longer freeride on tricking users into sharing their location data. After all, organizations, who financially profit from the shared location data, need to also financially remunerate users for sharing their location data. In turn, organizations and policy makers should not put too much trust into altruistic motivations like sustainability incentives as they do not exhibit data sharing rates.

In conclusion, our study highlights the complex interplay between user motivations, privacy concerns, and ethical considerations in the realm of location data sharing. While environmental motivations do not increase data sharing rates, financial incentives show some promise. Organizations and policy makers must explore innovative approaches that prioritize trust, transparency, and user empowerment to encourage responsible data sharing practices. Only by addressing these multifaceted challenges can we unlock the full potential of location data for the benefit of individuals and society.