The Adoption of Contact-Tracing Applications and the Integration of a Health Pass: A Prosocial Rationality in the Privacy Calculus?

Abstract

Contact tracing applications (CTAs) have been presented as important tools in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. In France, the government developed the ‘StopCovid’ CTA which later became ‘TousAntiCovid.’ This research aims at understanding the determinants of the use of this CTA and of the intention to integrate the health pass. To do that, this study focuses on the perceived value of its use based on the privacy calculus theory. A quantitative study was conducted using a sample of 779 French people. The results show that the use of the CTA and the intention to integrate the health pass are influenced, as hypothesized, by perceived value, distrust towards the government, and personal innovativeness. Perceived value is positively influenced by social and individual benefits, as well as social influence, and, to a lesser extent, negatively influenced by social risks but not by individual risks.