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'You must not know about me' On the willingness to share personal data

Author

Listed:
  • Schudy, Simeon
  • Utikal, Verena

Abstract

Although understanding preferences for privacy is of great importance to economists, businesses, and politicians, little is known about the factors that shape the individual willingness to share personal data. This article provides four experimental studies with a total of 470 participants that help characterize individual preferences for sharing, personal data varying the characteristics of potential recipients. We find that participants' willingness to share personal data with anonymous recipients decreases with the number of recipients. However, social distance to the recipients and the amount of personal data a single recipient receives do not decrease the willingness to share personal data. Further, we provide a methodological insight by showing that verification of personal data is essential when eliciting privacy preferences.

Suggested Citation

  • Schudy, Simeon & Utikal, Verena, 2017. "'You must not know about me' On the willingness to share personal data," Munich Reprints in Economics 49879, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lmu:muenar:49879
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    Cited by:

    1. Hermstrüwer, Yoan & Dickert, Stephan, 2017. "Sharing is daring: An experiment on consent, chilling effects and a salient privacy nudge," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 38-49.
    2. Janis Cloos & Björn Frank & Lukas Kampenhuber & Stephany Karam & Nhat Luong & Daniel Möller & Maria Monge-Larrain & Nguyen Tan Dat & Marco Nilgen & Christoph Rössler, 2019. "Is Your Privacy for Sale? An Experiment on the Willingness to Reveal Sensitive Information," Games, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-15, July.
    3. Alexandra König & Christina Wirth & Jan Grippenkoven, 2021. "Generation Y’s Information Needs Concerning Sharing Rides in Autonomous Mobility on Demand Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-19, July.
    4. Cloos, Janis & Mohr, Svenja, 2022. "Acceptance of data sharing in smartphone apps from key industries of the digital transformation: A representative population survey for Germany," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    5. Viola Ackfeld & Werner Güth, 2019. "Personal Information Disclosure under Competition for Benefits: Is Sharing Caring?," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics 2019_04, Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics.
    6. Irina Gemmo & Mark J. Browne & Helmut Gründl, 2025. "Privacy concerns in insurance markets: Implications for market equilibria and customer utility," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 58(2), pages 484-514, May.
    7. Dughera, Stefano & Giraudo, Marco, 2021. "Privacy rights in online interactions and litigation dynamics: A social custom view," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    8. Heiny, Friederike & Li, Tianchi & Tolksdorf, Michel, 2025. "We value your privacy: Behavior-based pricing under endogenous privacy," VfS Annual Conference 2025 (Cologne): Revival of Industrial Policy 325415, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    9. Biener, Christian & Eling, Martin & Lehmann, Martin, 2020. "Balancing the desire for privacy against the desire to hedge risk," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 608-620.
    10. Gonzalez-Jimenez, David & Capozza, Francesco & Dirkmaat, Thomas & van de Veer, Evelien & van Druten, Amber & Baillon, Aurélien, 2025. "Falling and failing (to learn): Evidence from a nation-wide cybersecurity field experiment with SMEs," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    11. Holm, Hakan J. & Samahita, Margaret, 2018. "Curating social image: Experimental evidence on the value of actions and selfies," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 83-104.
    12. Volker Benndorf, 2018. "Voluntary Disclosure of Private Information and Unraveling in the Market for Lemons: An Experiment," Games, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-17, May.
    13. Simeon Schudy & Verena Utikal, 2018. "Does Imperfect Data Privacy Stop People from Collecting Personal Data?," Games, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, March.
    14. David Chavanne, 2018. "Generalized Trust, Need for Cognitive Closure, and the Perceived Acceptability of Personal Data Collection," Games, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-18, April.
    15. Dughera, Stefano & Giraudo, Marco, 2020. "Privacy Rights in Online Interactions and Litigation Dynamics: a Social Custom View," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 202003, University of Turin.
    16. Joachim Plesch & Irenaeus Wolff, 2018. "Personal-Data Disclosure in a Field Experiment: Evidence on Explicit Prices, Political Attitudes, and Privacy Preferences," Games, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-14, May.
    17. Alfnes, Frode & Wasenden, Ole Christian, 2022. "Your privacy for a discount? Exploring the willingness to share personal data for personalized offers," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(7).
    18. Friehe, Tim & Gerhards, Leonie & Weber, Franziska, 2025. "Keep them out of It! How information externalities affect the willingness to sell personal data online," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    19. Peppel, Marcel & Ringbeck, Jürgen & Spinler, Stefan, 2022. "How will last-mile delivery be shaped in 2040? A Delphi-based scenario study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    20. Carlo Pugnetti & Sandra Elmer, 2020. "Self-Assessment of Driving Style and the Willingness to Share Personal Information," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-18, March.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C90 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - General
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design

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