Logo - Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt
Deutsche Telekom Chair of Mobile Business & Multilateral Security Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom Chair of Mobile Business & Multilateral Security


 

Privacy in Social Networks

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey by Markus Tschersich (PhD. Student at the Chair of Mobile Business and Multilateral Security, Goethe University Frankfurt) - looking after users' configuration of privacy settings in social networks.

The information gathered in this survey will help us determining how users of social networks (like facebook) configurate their privacy settings for their personal information. Based on this we can get an understanding of users' behaviour to learn how users' demands on the privacy configuration in social networks can be met.

The survey is built out of three parts: configuration of privacy setting, a questionnaire and a short activity with three tasks

In the first part, we want you to configure your privacy settings like you would do in a private used social network with your personal information. Please imagine that the requested personal information are available in the social network. Thus, in the case that you would not submit a requested information to a social network, please set 'Just Me' for this kind of personal information. The questionnaire just require you to answer some questions honestly. For the activity we will give you three small tasks you need to solve.

This survey should only take 15 to 20 minutes of your time. Your answers will be collected anonymously.

We will raffle an iPad Mini, a kindle paperwhite and a kindle among all participants whose finalize this survey. If you are interested in the results or the prices, feel free to insert your e-mail address at the end of the survey.

In the case of any questions do not hesitate to send me your questions to user.study@m-chair.net.

Thanks again for participating in this survey.

 

Please configure the privacy settings in this interface like you would do it in a Social Network filled with your personal information. When you have finalized the configuration, please click on 'next''.

 

Categories

  • Profile Settings
  • Status Updates
  • Media
 
Birthday Date
Open
Who can see the date of you birthday?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Birthday Year
Open
Who can see your year of birth?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Interested in
Open
Who can see, whether you are interested in boys or girls?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to see your status updates?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who will be informed about changes in your profile?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to see updates about your location?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to see entries from 3rd party applications (games, raffles, etc.)?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to add information to your timeline?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to see things on your timeline added by others than you?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to tag you in status updates?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who ist allowed to tag you in photos?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to see your photo albums?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to see the location of your photos?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to see your videos?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 

The default privacy settings are a possible justification for me if others will one day complain to me because of my usage of social networks.
disagree      fully agree 
Social networks allow me to present myself in a favourable way to others.
disagree      fully agree 
The default privacy settings in social networks' privacy section are the suggested, correct settings and can be lost if I play around with them.
disagree      fully agree 
If my use of social networks has negative consequences for me or others someday, I can at least justify myself because I used the default privacy settings.
disagree      fully agree 
 
I spend enjoyable and relaxing time on social networks.
disagree      fully agree 
Social networks are useful in supporting relationships with my friends.
disagree      fully agree 
I am concerned about submitting personal information to a social network because it could be misinterpreted or interpreted in a way I do not intend.
not concerned      fully concerned 
Others could interpret my personal information from social networks in a way I did not intended.
not concerned      fully concerned 
 
If I change the default privacy settings in social networks, I could loose the correct privacy settings.
disagree      fully agree 
I use social networks as tools to maintain relationships with people who are important to me.
disagree      fully agree 
Social networks are useful in developing relations to people for a private purpose.
disagree      fully agree 
I do not have the technical skills to understand the privacy options in social networks.
disagree      fully agree 
Fill all the blanks please!
 

Nothing really motivates me to change my privacy settings in social networks.
disagree      fully agree 
The thought of changing my default privacy settings in social networks bores me.
disagree      fully agree 
Social networks allow me to make a better impression on others.
disagree      fully agree 
I find it boring to change my default privacy settings in social networks.
disagree      fully agree 
 
I am concerned about submitting information to a social network because of how others might use it.
disagree      fully agree 
I take default privacy settings in social networks as a reasonable suggestion from the provider.
disagree      fully agree 
Using a social network is pleasant.
disagree      fully agree 
I can present myself by using social networks.
disagree      fully agree 
 
People or companies could misuse my personal information I've published in social networks or they could utilize the information in a way I would not agree to.
disagree      fully agree 
I am concerned about submitting personal information to a social network because of how others might interpret it.
disagree      fully agree 
I am aware of the whole range of available privacy options in social networks.
disagree      fully agree 
Using the default privacy settings is at least an excuse if others will one day get negative consequences because of my usage of social networks.
disagree      fully agree 
Fill all the blanks please!
 

I am not aware of the whole range of privacy options available to me in social networks.
disagree      fully agree 
I am concerned that the personal information I publish on social networks could be interpreted in a wrong or unintended way.
disagree      fully agree 
I do have the technical skills to change my privacy configuration in social networks.
disagree      fully agree 
I have fun on social networks.
disagree      fully agree 
 
The available spectrum of privacy options in social networks is intransparent.
disagree      fully agree 
I don't have the motivation to go through all these privacy settings in social networks and figure out what to change.
disagree      fully agree 
Social networks are convenient to stay in touch with my friends.
disagree      fully agree 
I am concerned that the information I publish on social networks could be misused or used in a way I did not intended.
disagree      fully agree 
 
I am aware of almost all privacy options disposable to me in social networks.
disagree      fully agree 
I don't understand the privacy settings in social networks.
disagree      fully agree 
If others are harmed because of my social network use, I can at least justify myself saying that I used the default privacy settings.
disagree      fully agree 
Changing default privacy settings in social networks would mean to lose the recommended and correct privacy settings.
disagree      fully agree 
Fill all the blanks please!
 

Users have lost all control how personal information is collected and used by social networks.
strongly disagree      strongly agree 
Most social networks handle the personal information they collect about consumers in a proper and confidential way.
strongly disagree      strongly agree 
Existing laws and organizational practices provide a reasonable level of protection for the privacy of social network users today.
strongly disagree      strongly agree 
Federal governments and Intelligence Services are still invading the privacy of social network users after the leakage of the NSA activities.
strongly disagree      strongly agree 
Fill all the blanks please!
 

In which year did you create your first social network account for private purposes? (e.g. Facebook, StudiVZ, etc.)
How often do you use social networks for private purposes?
several times a day
once a day
several times a week
several times a month
less than once a month
no answer
How many hours do you spend on social networks for private purposes per day?
I don't visit a Social Network everyday
Less than 30 minutes
1 hour
less than 2 hours
more than 2 hours
no answer
How many "friends" do you have on leisure time social networks (like Facebook)?
Less than 50
50 to 99
100 to 149
150 to 199
200 to 299
300 to 400
more than 400
no answer
How many "friends" have you added without actually knowing who they are?
None
1 or 2
3 or 4
5 or 6
7 or more
no answer
Which social networks are you using on a regular basis? Please state them.
How often do you use social networks for sharing data? This does not include "bilateral" personal messages, such as private emails or chat messages on the social network.
several times a day
once a day
several times a week
several times a month
less than once a month
no answer
Please describe which data you typically share on Facebook.
Please describe which data you won't share on social networks and explain your rational behind this.
Fill all the blanks please!
 

What is your gender?
Male
Female
No answer
What is your age?
What is your nationality?
other:
In which country are you currently living?
other:
What is your highest educational qualification?
What is your current relationship status?
Single
In a relationship
Engaged
Married
Widowed
Seperated
Divorced
No anwser
Fill all the blanks please!

On the next page, we will show you again an interface where you can configure your privacy settings. This is the same as in the first step of this survey. But this time, we don't want you to configure the privacy settings according to your preferences, but to solve the following three tasks:

 

First Task:
Please adjust the privacy settings that you cannot be found by other search engines.

Second Task:
Please adjust the privacy settings that only friends of friends can poke you.

Third Task:
Please adjust the privacy settings that only friends are allowed to tag you in status updates.

You do not need to note the tasks. They will be displayed to you on top of the next page again.

 

1st: Please adjust the privacy settings that you cannot be found by other search engines.
2nd: Please adjust the privacy settings that only friends of friends can poke you.
3rd: Please adjust the privacy settings that only friends are allowed to tag you in status updates.

 

Categories

  • Profile Settings
  • Contacting Me
  • Status Updates
  • Looking me up
  • Media
 
Quote
Open
Who can see your favourite quote?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Education
Open
Who can see where you have studied?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Family
Open
Who can see you relatives?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Work
Open
Who can see where you are working?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Home
Open
Who can see your hometown?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Languages
Open
Who can see the languages you can speak?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Relationship Status
Open
Who can see you relationship status?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Birthday Date
Open
Who can see the date of you birthday?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Birthday Year
Open
Who can see your year of birth?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Interested in
Open
Who can see, whether you are interested in boys or girls?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Gender
Open
Who can see your gender?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
City
Open
Who can see your current city?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Religion
Open
Who can see the religion you are belonging to?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Political View
Open
Who can see your political view?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Contacts
Open
Who can see a list of your contacts?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Email
Open
Who is allowed to see your email address?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Mobile Phone
Open
Who is allowed to see your mobile phone number?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Other Phone
Open
Who is allowed to see your phone number?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Messenger
Open
Who is allowed to see your messenger usernames (e.g. for Skype)?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Address
Open
Who is allowed to see your private address (street, no.)?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
City
Open
Who is allowed to see the name of the city you are currenty living?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Zip-Code
Open
Who is allowed to see the zip-code of the place you are currenty living?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Website
Open
Who is allowed to see the URL of your website?
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is a allowed to send you messages?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is a allowed to poke you?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to see your status updates?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who will be informed about changes in your profile?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to see updates about your location?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to see entries from 3rd party applications (games, raffles, etc.)?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to add information to your timeline?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to see things on your timeline added by others than you?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to tag you in status updates?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who ist allowed to tag you in photos?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgroup of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to search you by email address?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to search you by phone number?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to search you by your name?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Can your profile be found by external search engines?
Open
Allowed
Allowed
Not allowed
 
Who can see that you have visited their profile?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to see your photo albums?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to download your photos?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to see the location of your photos?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to see your videos?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Who is allowed to download your videos?
Open
Everyone
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends
List (Subgrounp of Friends)
Only Me
 
Do you want to get the results of this survey? If that's the case, please enter your email-address. Otherwise, just leave the field empty.
Do you want to participate in the raffle to win one of the prices? If that's the case, please enter your email-address. Otherwise, just leave the field empty. Please note for international despatch (out of European Union), that we cannot take care about local customs or taxes.
Fill all the blanks please!
 

Thank you for taking time to look at this page. Have a nice day!