Revised Research question

Posted on November 8, 2011 by michael.alberti

To what extent is users privacy at risk when using various applications on the Android Operating System.

This entry was posted in Homework, Research Questions. Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to Revised Research question

  1. Ives says:
    November 13, 2011 at 1:20 pm

    I like this question particularly because I have an Android phone. It should be interesting! Your question is specific, however I feel as if you can select a few specific applications to discuss (possibly compare and contrast) in depth within your project.
    I hope this helps out even the slightest bit, Michael.
    Good luck, soldier!

  2. david.ma says:
    November 15, 2011 at 7:19 pm

    Good question, and like what Ives said, you should name for one or two specific applications to discuss about. Also instead of writing “To what extent”, use “How”, it fits and sounds better.

  3. Stephen Francoeur says:
    November 28, 2011 at 3:54 pm

    Your question is much more focused now. I’m thinking, though, that “users’ privacy” is too vague and needs to be spelled out more specifically. Maybe you just want to focus on one kind of data that apps gather and send back to the app developer. A Wall Street Journal article from 17 December 2010, “Your Apps Are Watching You,” offers a nice overview of the issues of apps and privacy and may suggest to you a way to focus further or specify more.

    When I read about the data that is being transmitted, I have a bunch of questions:

    – do I really care? am I typical in my response?

    – what is a reasonable level of informed consent to expect from those who use Android apps? do the app developers do a good enough job notifying users of what data will be used and how it will be used? what is a reasonable amount of notification that we should expect from app developers about data being transmitted between your phone and the app developer?

    – should Google require app developers to give users ways to opt out of data being shared with the app developer? is that technically feasible? will the app developers stop developing apps (or develop fewere) if the Android Market required more from developers about notifying users and offering opt-out mechanisms? should a caveat emptor (let the buyer beware)/free market approach be left in place so that users are really on their own to research and understand the privacy tradeoffs in using apps that gather and transmit their data?

    I hope these questions help you further refine your question.

Comments are closed.