Privacy Calculus in Finnish Consumers

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School of Business | Bachelor's thesis
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Date

2025

Department

Tieto- ja palvelujohtamisen laitos

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Mcode

Degree programme

Tieto- ja palvelujohtaminen

Language

en

Pages

28

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Abstract

Mobile applications often require personal data access and embed third-party tracking, raising privacy concerns among users and regulators. This thesis examines whether privacy intrusiveness, measured by counts of invasive app permissions and embedded trackers, correlates with app popularity in the Finnish Android app market. This study compiles a dataset of 855 apps from Google Play’s Finland “Top Free” charts across categories, combining Google Play rankings (a 28-day momentum-based popularity metric) with privacy-related features from Exodus Privacy reports. Statistical analysis (correlations and Welch’s t-tests comparing the top 93 vs bottom 74 apps by rank) found no strong evidence that more invasive apps are less popular. In other words, highly ranked apps tend to request as many or more sensitive permissions and include similar numbers of trackers as lower-ranked apps. These results align with the “privacy paradox”: the gap between users’ stated privacy concerns and their app adoption behaviour. The discussion considers possible explanations, including users’ risk-benefit calculus and information asymmetries, and suggests managerial implications for app developers and policy implications under EU data protection regulations. Limitations are noted (e.g., static analysis scope, cross-sectional design). Overall, Finnish consumers do not appear to penalise apps for greater privacy intrusiveness, highlighting the need for enhanced transparency and regulatory oversight to align app practices with user privacy expectations.

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Thesis advisor

Movarrei, Reza

Keywords

privacy calculus, privacy paradox, mobile apps, Android permissions, trackers, GDPR, Finland

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202510268577

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[kand] Kauppakorkeakoulu / BIZ