1. Privacy in India: Attitudes
and Awareness V 2.0
NWIS, JIIT, 2015
Ponnurangam Kumaraguru (“PK”), Niharika
Sachdeva
December 23, 2015

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Who am I?
 Ph.D. student at CERC@IIIT-Delhi
 TCS (TATA Consultancy Services) Ph.D. fellow
 Done work in computer mediated
communication and usable security
 Research interests
- Usable security and privacy
- Collaboration and communication
- Human computer interaction
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Teachers OSM program
3

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Suported by
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Dr. Alan F. Westin - Inspiration
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“The right to be left alone.”
Dr. Westin was cited as one of the first scholars
to recognize the threats of modern technology
and as one of the first to present a measured
philosophy in a debate often charged with
emotion and ideology.
Washington Post

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Young Girls Arrested
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Class XI Student Jailed
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Family: Just SHARED it
and not Posted it!

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Blackmailing Teens
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Why study Privacy perceptions?
 Bring citizens’ concerns about privacy
protection issues on the table
 Understand information gaps prevalent
among citizens
 Authorities are relatively unknown to most
of the citizens’ views
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Released on Nov 22, 2012
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Motivation for this research
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 Understand the privacy status may help in
decision making in India
- Government policies
- Industry plans
 Positioning India in the global map of privacy
discussions
- Empirical data

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20 Interviews 4 FGDs
10,427 Surveys
Methodology
18 months!

15. 0.08
7.73
0.14
7.10
1.10
6.88
0.28
8.14
1.96
8.58
0.52
0.21
0.74
3.19
9.38
0.35
0.03
0.04
0.25
2.94
11.29
0.02
8.57
0.05
9.39
9.53
0.21
0.17
9.390.48
0.02
0.03
0.01
0.08
Sample

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Demographics
Gender (N= 10,232)
Male 67.57
Female 32.43
16
Age
(N=10,350)
<18 1.54
18-24 21.31
25-29 32.20
30-39 25.90
40-49 14.09
50-64 4.46
65+ 0.50
Age

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Topics of Study
 General privacy
 Mobile phones
 Internet and social media
 Financial privacy
 Government privacy
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Mobile Privacy (Q14)
18
Strongly
agree
Agree Total
Mobile service providers give
reasonable protection for the
information they collect
(N = 10,379)
Phone conversations can be
tapped by mobile service
providers in national interest
(N = 10,363)
Mobile service providers can
share the customer’s
information with government
organization when required,
even without informing the
customers (N = 10,366)

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Mobile Privacy (Q14)
19
Strongly
agree
Agree Total
Mobile service providers give
reasonable protection for the
information they collect
(N = 10,379) 13.52 49.69 63.21
Phone conversations can be
tapped by mobile service
providers in national interest
(N = 10,363)
Mobile service providers can
share the customer’s
information with government
organization when required,
even without informing the
customers (N = 10,366)

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Mobile Privacy (Q14)
20
Strongly
agree
Agree Total
Mobile service providers give
reasonable protection for the
information they collect
(N = 10,379) 13.52 49.69 63.21
Phone conversations can be
tapped by mobile service
providers in national interest
(N = 10,363) 20.64 47.53 68.71
Mobile service providers can
share the customer’s
information with government
organization when required,
even without informing the
customers (N = 10,366) 20.01 47.40 67.41

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Mobile privacy
 What information is stored in mobile phone
 60% store ‘videos, photographs’, 30% store PAN and ID
number, and 26% store credit card, ATM, and PIN numbers
(Q12, N = 5,925)
 63% mentioned privacy as the main reason for not storing
personal information on their mobile phones (Q12, N =
5,925)
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Internet & Social Media
What do you feel about privacy of your personal
information on your OSN?
22
Q42, N = 6,855
It is not a concern at all
Since I have specified my privacy settings, my
data is secure from a privacy breach
Even though, I have specified my privacy
settings, I am concerned about privacy of my
data
It is a concern, but I still share personal
information
It is a concern; hence I do not share personal
data on OSN

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Internet & Social Media
What do you feel about privacy of your personal
information on your OSN?
23
Q42, N = 6,855
It is not a concern at all
Since I have specified my privacy settings, my
data is secure from a privacy breach 42.13
Even though, I have specified my privacy
settings, I am concerned about privacy of my
data
It is a concern, but I still share personal
information
It is a concern; hence I do not share personal
data on OSN

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Internet & Social Media
What do you feel about privacy of your personal
information on your OSN?
24
Q42, N = 6,855
It is not a concern at all 19.30
Since I have specified my privacy settings, my
data is secure from a privacy breach 42.13
Even though, I have specified my privacy
settings, I am concerned about privacy of my
data 23.84
It is a concern, but I still share personal
information 8.02
It is a concern; hence I do not share personal
data on OSN 6.71

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Internet & Social Media
Reading privacy policy while creating an
account (Q39, Q40, Q51)
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e-commerce
(N=7,814)
email
(N=7,836)
OSN
(N=6,890)
Yes, I do
I browse
through it
Never
Don’t
remember

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Internet & Social Media
Reading privacy policy while creating an
account (Q39, Q40, Q51)
26
e-commerce
(N=7,814)
email
(N=7,836)
OSN
(N=6,890)
Yes, I do 34.00 34.48 46.33
I browse
through it
Never
Don’t
remember

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Internet & Social Media
Reading privacy policy while creating an
account (Q39, Q40, Q51)
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e-commerce
(N=7,814)
email
(N=7,836)
OSN
(N=6,890)
Yes, I do 34.00 34.48 46.33
I browse
through it 33.91 31.20 27.45
Never 24.29 27.63 18.3
Don’t
remember 6.99 6.29 7.92

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Internet & Social Media
If you receive a friendship request on your most
frequently used OSN, which of the following people
will you add as friends?
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Q43, N = 6,929
Person of opposite gender
People from my hometown
Person with nice profile picture
Strangers (people you do not
know)
Somebody, whom you do not
know or recognize but have
mutual / common friends with
Anyone

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Internet & Social Media
If you receive a friendship request on your most
frequently used OSN, which of the following people
will you add as friends?
29
Q43, N = 6,929
Person of opposite gender
People from my hometown
Person with nice profile picture 10.12
Strangers (people you do not
know)
Somebody, whom you do not
know or recognize but have
mutual / common friends with
Anyone

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Internet & Social Media
If you receive a friendship request on your most
frequently used OSN, which of the following people
will you add as friends?
30
Q43, N = 6,929
Person of opposite gender 19.51
People from my hometown
Person with nice profile picture 10.12
Strangers (people you do not
know)
Somebody, whom you do not
know or recognize but have
mutual / common friends with
Anyone 2.99

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Internet & Social Media
If you receive a friendship request on your most
frequently used OSN, which of the following people
will you add as friends?
31
Q43, N = 6,929
Person of opposite gender 19.51
People from my hometown 27.39
Person with nice profile picture 10.12
Strangers (people you do not
know) 4.99
Somebody, whom you do not
know or recognize but have
mutual / common friends with 8.31
Anyone 2.99

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Internet & Social Media
 If you receive a friendship request on your most
frequently used OSN, which of the following people
will you add as friends?
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Female Male Total Difference
Person of opposite gender 4.68 14.46 19.14 -9.78
People from my hometown 7.16 19.73 26.89 -12.57
Person with nice profile picture 2.02 7.94 9.96 -5.92
Strangers (people you do not
know) 1 3.85 4.85 -2.85
Somebody, whom you do not
know or recognize but have
mutual / common friends with 2.28 5.93 8.21 -3.65
Anyone 0.75 2.21 2.96 -1.46

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Internet & Social Media
Do you think it is possible for somebody to steal your
identity on your social network website i.e. create a
profile with your name, pictures and details?
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Q50, N = 6,882
Yes, it is possible, but it has
never happened to me
Yes, it is possible, and it has
happened to me
No, it is not possible
Don’t know

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Internet & Social Media
Do you think it is possible for somebody to steal your
identity on your social network website i.e. create a
profile with your name, pictures and details?
34
Q50, N = 6,882
Yes, it is possible, but it has
never happened to me
60.39
Yes, it is possible, and it has
happened to me
24.03
No, it is not possible 10.07
Don’t know 5.51

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Government
Do we have privacy laws in India that protect
Indian citizens’ privacy?
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Response (N=10,380)
Yes
No
Not sure

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Government
Do we have privacy laws in India that protect
Indian citizens’ privacy?
36
Response (N=10,380)
Yes 49.02
No 27.37
Not sure 23.61

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Online data sharing
 What are your privacy concerns while exchanging /
saving personal information through email services?
37
Female Male Difference
I have no concerns; 13.66 21.73 -8.08
I believe that the privacy of
my data is maintained 41.72 40.03 1.69
I am concerned, but I do not
have a choice 22.88 21.92 0.96
I am concerned so I don't
save/exchange 17.15 13.29 3.86
Don’t know 4.59 3.03 1.57
Total 100 100

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Friendship requests on OSN
 If you receive a friendship request on your most
frequently used OSN, which of the following people
will you add as friends? (Normalized results)
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Female Male Difference
Person of opposite gender 14.09 22.20 -8.11
People from my hometown 21.57 30.29 -8.72
Person with nice profile picture 6.09 12.19 -6.1
Strangers (people you do not know) 3 5.92 -2.91
Somebody, whom you do not know
or recognize but have mutual /
common friends with 6.87 9.11 -2.23
Anyone 2.26 3.39 -1.13

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Females more phone savvy
 Q11) What is the personal information which you
don’t mind storing in your mobile phone?
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Female Male Difference
Business related
information (meeting
details) 24.44 24.81 -0.38
Credit card number(s) /
ATM card number(s) / PIN
number(s) 32.66 23.16 9.5
Information e.g. date of
birth, PAN number, ID
number, account number 34.01 28.77 5.24
Password(s) 30.29 22.33 7.96
Videos, photographs, etc. 60.59 66.67 -6.08

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Female trust mobile service
providers
 Q17. While exchanging information on mobile phone, what
according to you, is the extent of confidentiality provided by
the mobile service provider for information being
exchanged?
40
Female Male Difference
Very high 15.55 9.54 6.02
High 35.66 38.51 -2.85
Neutral 26.01 23.86 2.14
Low 9.47 9.69 -0.22
Very low 1.35 1.85 -0.49
I don't know 11.96 16.55 -4.59
Total 100 100

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Females more Conscious
 Gender based privacy analysis
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18-24
 Q2. Which of the following information is
personal to you, that you would NOT like to
share? (Choose all that apply)
42
25-29 18-24 Difference
Email address 4.1 12.18 -8.08
Family details 9.75 26.64 -16.89
Landline number 8.27 18.05 -9.78
Marital status 3.68 6.77 -3.09
Mobile number 11.68 26.91 -15.23
Pictures and videos
featuring self 13.73 37.18 -23.45
Physical details e.g. height,
weight, eye colour 7.24 11.41 -4.17

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25-29
 Q2. Which of the following information is
personal to you, that you would NOT like to
share? (Choose all that apply)
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25-29 18-24 Difference
Annual house hold income 54.1 38.64 15.46
Passport number 72.27 45.86 26.41
Passwords 92.52 78.45 14.07
Personal income 66.6 41.59 25.01

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18-24 more worried about
Public place privacy
 Q5. Imagine you are walking through a shopping mall,
where you observe a camera capturing the movements of
people in the shops, what would be your reaction?
44
25-29 18-24 Difference
I would not change my
actions 47.12 42.38 4.74
I would try to avoid the
camera 31.14 18.84 12.3
I would never go to the
shopping mall again 11.29 6.09 5.2
If at all, a camera captures
my movements, I would be
curious to know the reasons
for capturing the video 10.17 30.7 -20.53

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25-29 more concerned about
OSN privacy
 Q42. What do you feel about privacy of your
personal information on your OSN?
45
25-29 18-24
It is not a concern at all 23.62 11.8 11.82
Since I have specified my privacy
settings, my data is secure from a
privacy breach 44.47 40.45 4.02
Even though, I have specified my
privacy settings, I am concerned
about privacy of my data 20.55 29.08 -8.53
It is a concern, but I still share
personal information 8.16 7.64 0.52
It is a concern; hence I do not
share personal data on OSN 3.2 11.03 -7.83
Total 100 100

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Takeaways!
 Awareness about privacy issues has
increased
 Awareness of financial privacy is high
 Many misconceptions about privacy
 Service providers are reliable
 Awareness of privacy in OSN is more than e-
commerce
 Trust in Government has reduced
 Results can be used to build better policies
and technologies
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Bibliography
47
 Kumaraguru, P., and Cranor, L. Privacy in India: Attitudes and Awareness. In
Proceedings of the 2005 Workshop on Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PET2005)
(2005)
 Kumaraguru, P., and Capkun, S. Home is safer than the cloud! privacy concerns for
consumer cloud storage. In Proceeding of Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security
(SOUPS) (2011).
 The world factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
factbook/geos/in.html.
 Bellman, S., Johnson, E. J., Kobrin, S. J., and Lohse, G. L. International Differences in
Information privacy concerns: A global survey of consumers. The Information Society
20 (2004), 313 – 324.
 Bhupta, M. Privacy on sale. India Today International.
 Boni, M. D., and Prigmore, M. Cultural Aspects of Internet Privacy. In Proceedings of
the UKAIS 2002 Conference (2002).
 Celenet. Payment in India is going e-way. http://www.celent.com/reports/payments-
india-going-e-way.
 Cranor, L. F., Reagle, J., and Ackerman, M. S. Beyond Concern: Understanding Net
Users’ Attitudes About Online Privacy. Tech. rep., Retrieved June 18, 2005,
http://www.research.att.com/resources/trs/TRs/99/99.4/99.4.3/report.htm,
September 25- 27, 1999.

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Things to do
48
 Check out our complete report on
http://precog.iiitd.edu.in/research/privacyin
dia/
 Tweet as
“http://bit.ly/privacyindia@ponguru
#privacyindia12”
 Ask your friends and family; let us know, if
they agree with our results

49. 49
http://precog.iiitd.edu.in/research/privacyindia/
pk@iiitd.ac.in

50. Niharika Sachdeva
PhD Research Scholar
Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology
New Delhi
niharikas@iiitd.ac.in
precog.iiitd.edu.in/people/niharika