Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Perceived Privacy Problems Within Digital Contact Tracing: A Study Among Swedish Citizens

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
ICT Systems Security and Privacy Protection (SEC 2021)

Part of the book series: IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology ((IFIPAICT,volume 625))

Abstract

Several governments employed digital contact tracing using smartphone apps to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Research shows that privacy concerns hinder the adoption of such apps, while privacy problems which emerged by using them are empirically unknown. This study aims to uncover the dimensions of privacy problems available in digital contact tracing through a survey from 453 citizens in Sweden. Our results show that respondents found privacy problems regarding surveillance, identification, aggregation, secondary use, disclosure, and stigma highly relevant in contact tracing apps. Among demographic factors, younger respondents were generally more concerned about privacy risks than older respondents. This study extends previous literature by revealing privacy problems arising from contact tracing apps.

Supported by VINNOVA.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    https://www.ibm.com/analytics/spss-statistics-software.

References

  1. Bansal, G., Gefen, D.: The impact of personal dispositions on information sensitivity: privacy concern and trust in disclosing health information online. Decis. Support Syst. 49(2), 138–150 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Cox, V., et al.: Critical changes to services for TB patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. 24(5), 542–544 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Abeler, J., Bäcker, M., Buermeyer, U., Zillessen, H.: COVID-19 contact tracing and data protection can go together. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 8(4), e19359 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Akoglu, H.: User’s guide to correlation coefficients. Turkish J. Emerg. Med. 18(3), 91–93 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Altmann, S., et al.: Acceptability of app-based contact tracing for COVID-19: cross-country survey study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 8(8), e19857 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Anglemyer, A., et al.: Digital contact tracing technologies in epidemics: a rapid review. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. (8) (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Bengio, Y., et al.: The need for privacy with public digital contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet Digit. Health 2(7), 342–344 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Braunsberger, K., Wybenga, H., Gates, R.: A comparison of reliability between telephone and web-based surveys. J. Bus. Res. 60(7), 758–764 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Cyphers, B., Gebhart, G.: Apple and Google’s COVID-19 exposure notification API: questions and answers (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Döring, N.: How is the COVID-19 pandemic affecting our sexualities? An overview of the current media narratives and research hypotheses. Arch. Sex. Behav. 49(8), 2765–2778 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Ferretti, L., et al.: Quantifying SARS-CoV-2 transmission suggests epidemic control with digital contact tracing. Science 368(6491), eabb6936 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Goodwin, C.: Privacy: recognition of a consumer right. J. Public Policy Mark. 10(1), 149–166 (1991)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Guinchard, A.: Our digital footprint under COVID-19: should we fear the UK digital contact tracing app? Int. Rev. Law Comput. Technol. 35, 1–14 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Henry, G.T.: Practical Sampling, vol. 21. Sage, Thousand Oaks (1990)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  15. Jansen-Kosterink, S.M., Hurmuz, M., den Ouden, M., van Velsen, L.: Predictors to use mobile apps for monitoring COVID-19 symptoms and contact tracing: a survey among Dutch citizens (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Joshi, A., Kale, S., Chandel, S., Pal, D.K.: Likert scale: explored and explained. Curr. J. Appl. Sci. Technol. 396–403 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Lanese, N.: ’superspreader’ in south korea infects nearly 40 people with coronavirus. https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-superspreader-south-korea-church.html

  18. Lincoln, Y.S., Guba, E.G.: Naturalistic Inquiry, vol. 75. Sage, Thousand Oaks (1985)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Megnin-Viggars, O., Carter, P., Melendez-Torres, G., Weston, D., Rubin, G.J.: Facilitators and barriers to engagement with contact tracing during infectious disease outbreaks: a rapid review of the evidence. PLoS ONE 15(10), e0241473 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Norman, G.: Likert scales, levels of measurement and the “laws” of statistics. Adv. Health Sci. Educ. 15(5), 625–632 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. O’Callaghan, M.E., et al.: A national survey of attitudes to COVID-19 digital contact tracing in the republic of Ireland. Irish J. Med. Sci. (1971-) 1–25 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Park, O., et al.: Contact transmission of COVID-19 in South Korea: novel investigation techniques for tracing contacts. Osong Public Health Res. Perspect. 11(1), 60–63 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Park, S., Choi, G.J., Ko, H.: Information technology-based tracing strategy in response to COVID-19 in South Korea-privacy controversies. JAMA 323(21), 2129–2130 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Riemer, K., Ciriello, R., Peter, S., Schlagwein, D.: Digital contact-tracing adoption in the COVID-19 pandemic: it governance for collective action at the societal level. Eur. J. Inf. Syst. 29, 1–15 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Scheaffer, R.L., Mendenhall III, W., Ott, R.L., Gerow, K.G.: Elementary Survey Sampling. Cengage Learning (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Solove, D.J.: A taxonomy of privacy. U. Pa. L. Rev. 154, 477 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Sotgiu, G., Dobler, C.C.: Social stigma in the time of coronavirus disease 2019. Eur. Respir. J. 56(2), 2002461 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Tavakol, M., Dennick, R.: Making sense of Cronbach’s alpha. Int. J. Med. Educ. 2, 53 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Trivedi, A., Vasisht, D.: Digital contact tracing: technologies, shortcomings, and the path forward. SIGCOMM Comput. Commun. Rev. 50(4), 75–81 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Vaske, J.J., Beaman, J., Sponarski, C.C.: Rethinking internal consistency in Cronbach’s alpha. Leis. Sci. 39(2), 163–173 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Vaudenay, S.: Centralized or decentralized? the contact tracing dilemma. Cryptology ePrint Archive, Report 2020/531 (2020). https://eprint.iacr.org/2020/531

  32. Walrave, M., Waeterloos, C., Ponnet, K.: Adoption of a contact tracing app for containing COVID-19: A health belief model approach. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 6(3), e20572 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Yang, F., Heemsbergen, L., Fordyce, R.: Comparative analysis of china’s health code, Australia’s COVIDSafe and New Zealand’s COVID tracer surveillance apps: a new corona of public health governmentality? Media Int. Aust. 178, 1–16 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Zastrow, M.: South Korea is reporting intimate details of COVID-19 cases: has it helped? Nature (2020)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden

    Ali Padyab & Joakim Kävrestad

Authors
  1. Ali Padyab
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Joakim Kävrestad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joakim Kävrestad .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Audun Jøsang

  2. Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa

    Lynn Futcher

  3. University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Janne Hagen

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Padyab, A., Kävrestad, J. (2021). Perceived Privacy Problems Within Digital Contact Tracing: A Study Among Swedish Citizens. In: Jøsang, A., Futcher, L., Hagen, J. (eds) ICT Systems Security and Privacy Protection. SEC 2021. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 625. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78120-0_18

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78120-0_18

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-78119-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-78120-0

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Societies and partnerships

Search

Navigation