No Such Thing as a Free App: Understanding User Perceptions of Privacy and Security around Zero-Rated Apps in South Africa

Abstract

Many companies offer zero-rated, or data-charge free mobile apps to provide Internet access to low-income users in areas where Internet access is unaffordable. Yet, these apps are often not transparent in how they treat and manage user data. It is also unclear how users perceive privacy and security issues around these "free" apps. To investigate user perceptions of privacy and security around paid and "free" apps and improve the design of zero-rated apps, I interviewed 14 zero-rated mobile app users in South Africa. Our findings suggest that users often conflate privacy with security, that security is their main concern on mobile apps, and that they do not have significantly different concerns for zero-rated apps even when they are trading privacy and security to reduce Internet costs. Based on our findings, I suggest future work to help users get online in ways that respect their privacy and security needs.