Exploring Privacy Aspects of Smartphone Notifications

Abstract

Notifications are one of the most important features of mobile devices. Users receive multitudes of notifications every day. These notifications often carry sensitive content such as private messages, financial information, authentication tokens, etc. To understand privacy considerations related to notification content and delivery, we conducted a study in which participants (n = 206) described their preferences and practices regarding smartphone notifications. A majority of the participants (61%) reported at least one negative experience connected to notifications. We report on various privacy violations that arise due to notifications, such as unwanted information disclosure, intimacy breach, and inopportune intrusion. Our work contributes to a better understanding of privacy risks presented by notifications on mobile devices and points to several design suggestions for privacy-sensitive notification delivery mechanisms.