Do not embarrass: re-examining user concerns for online tracking and advertising

Abstract

Recent studies have highlighted user concerns with respect to third-party tracking and online behavioral advertising (OBA) and the need for better consumer choice mechanisms to address these phenomena. We re-investigate the question of perceptions of third-party tracking while situating it in the larger context of how online ads, in general, are perceived by users. Via in-depth interviews with 53 Web users in India, we find that although concerns for third-party tracking and OBA remain noticeable amongst this population, other aspects of online advertising---like the possibility of being shown ads with embarrassing and suggestive content---are voiced as greater concerns than the concern of being tracked. Current-day blocking tools are insufficient to redress the situation: users demand selective filtering of ad content (as opposed to blocking out all ads) and are not satisfied with mechanisms that only control tracking and OBA. We conclude with design recommendations for enduser tools to control online ad consumption keeping in mind the concerns brought forth by our study.