Assessing Mobile Application Privacy: A Quantitative Framework for Privacy Measurement

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quantitative framework to evaluate and label the privacy risks of Android applications, helping users make informed privacy decisions amidst increasing data sharing concerns.

Contribution

It presents a novel privacy quantification framework that systematically assesses privacy risks and provides qualitative labels for Android apps, addressing the lack of clear privacy indicators.

Findings

Framework enables systematic privacy risk evaluation

Provides qualitative privacy labels for Android apps

Supports informed user decision-making

Abstract

The proliferation of mobile applications and the subsequent sharing of personal data with service and application providers have given rise to substantial privacy concerns. Application marketplaces have introduced mechanisms to conform to regulations and provide individuals with control over their data. However, a notable absence persists regarding clear indications, labels or scores elucidating the privacy implications of these applications. In response to this challenge, this paper introduces a privacy quantification framework. The purpose of this framework is to systematically evaluate the level of privacy risk when using particular Android applications. The main goal is to provide individuals with qualitative labels to make informed decisions about their privacy. This work aims to contribute to a digital environment that prioritizes privacy, promotes informed decision-making, and endorses the privacy-preserving design principles incorporation.