a typology of online privacy personalities

With our lives being increasingly digital, most users are concerned about their online privacy. still, many users provide manifold data online and show no protection behaviors. research has found different explanations for this privacy paradox: users perform a privacy calculus (weighing benefits and concerns about data sharing), make affective and inconsiderate decisions, or are overtaxed by the complexity of privacy protection practices. complementing these theories, we hypothesize that different user types approach privacy differently. in interviews and focus groups (n = 25), we see that users show a different reasoning for their online behaviors. subsequently, an online survey (n = 337) was carried out. using cluster analyses, we identify three user groups: privacy guardians are highly concerned and guard their privacy carefully, privacy cynics are moderately concerned but feel powerless, and privacy pragmatists are less concerned and trade privacy for benefits. the user groups need to be addressed by individually tailored information and communication strategies to be able to adequately benefit from the digital era according to their requirements.