Driving with Guidance: Exploring the Trade-Off Between GPS Utility and Privacy Concerns Among Drivers

TL;DR

This study examines how drivers balance the utility of GPS navigation with privacy concerns, revealing that users prioritize utility over privacy and are willing to share obfuscated data to protect their sensitive locations.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into driver privacy preferences and proposes design strategies to enhance privacy without sacrificing GPS utility.

Findings

Users prioritize GPS utility over privacy risks.

Sharing obfuscated location data is acceptable to users.

Design opportunities include adaptive interfaces and blockchain solutions.

Abstract

As the reliance on GPS technology for navigation grows, so does the ethical dilemma of balancing its indispensable utility with the escalating concerns over user privacy. This study investigates the trade-offs between GPS utility and privacy among drivers, using a mixed-method approach that includes a survey of 151 participants and 10 follow-up interviews. We examine usage patterns, feature preferences, and comfort levels with location tracking and destination prediction. Our findings demonstrate that users tend to overlook potential privacy risks in favor of the utility the technology provides. We also find that users do not mind sharing inaccurate or obfuscated location data as long as their frequently visited locations aren't identified, and their full driving routes can't be recreated. Based on our findings, we explore design opportunities for enhancing privacy and utility, including adaptive interfaces, personalized profiles, and technological innovations like blockchain.