To disclose or not to disclose, that is the question!

After the announcement of WhatsApp on its new terms of use of users’ data, we feel that somehow full transparency of privacy concerns is not always the best strategy to gain credibility. Somehow, this experience is telling us that the less the better.

Currently, permissions on WhatsApp are an all-or-nothing consent to use the app and users cannot selectively grant or decline a subset of them. So, users must choose not to install the application to deny any of the requested permissions. This notice generated such a disagreement that the company decided to postpone the implementation of their new policy until May 2021 with some changes on it (BBC, 2021) in order to avoid a mass exodus of users.

With these notices, companies intend to offer guarantees to consumers about their privacy management practices. Ironically, such guarantees may raise more privacy concerns than alleviate them.

Mostly, the research supports the argument that consumers, by knowing exactly what information companies have access to and understanding how it will be processed, feel more comfortable to provide personal data (Milne et al. 2017; Nowak & Phelps 1992,). In industries where privacy notices are not required by law, the fact that a company voluntarily chooses to disclose its data management practices may indicate that it is trustworthy. However, some privacy notices, while designed to promote a sense of confidence that personal information will not be misused, can trigger privacy concerns that were previously inactive.

This phenomenon is called the “bulletproof glass effect” (Brough, 2020), and bases on the idea that a privacy notice works like bulletproof glass every time it is designed for protection; however, its only presence can create a sense of potential danger and, paradoxically, makes consumers feel more vulnerable than they would in its absence.

Although consumer privacy concerns are often context-dependent and unstable in all situations, privacy notices can decrease rather than increase consumer confidence (Acquisti et al. 2015). This has led many smartphone users to worry about their privacy and opt for paid apps that request less access to personal information.