Identifying the values associated with users’ behavior towards anonymity tools through means-end analysis

Abstract

Concerns about privacy and frustration over censorship and content blocking urge a great number of users to use privacy enhancing products. This research focuses on anonymity tools, as a Privacy Enhancing Technology (PET), investigating the human values associated with users’ behavior towards them. We use means-end analysis, a methodology we consider to be appropriate for investigating users’ conceptions and incentives that determine acceptance and use of anonymity tools. In this context we use the laddering technique, a qualitative method based on in-depth interviews, to identify the chains of attribute-consequence-value of anonymity tools users and to construct a Hierarchical Value Map. The results show that freedom, personal privacy, economic prosperity, professional development and fear-free living are the core values users achieve as a result of anonymity tools use. The aim of our research is to provide insights and enhance understanding of anonymity tools users’ behavior, which we expect to benefit both researchers and software engineers to design more effective tools.

Keywords

• PETs
• Anonymity tools
• Means-end analysis
• Laddering interview
• Values