Visual Attention and Privacy Indicators in Android: Insights from Eye Tracking

In today’s digital landscape, where privacy preservation is of paramount importance, Android has implemented new features to enhance transparency: the Privacy Indicators (PIs). Our study employs eye-tracking technology to investigate how users perceive and interact with these indicators. As a visual alert system, PIs signal when sensitive resources, like camera or microphone, are in use. However, the structure of Android’s permission model, susceptible to exploitation by malevolent or commercial apps, places an excessive responsibility on PIs. They act as the final alert for users against the misuse of permissions in unexpected contexts. We conducted a controlled experiment with 29 participants who were exposed to various privacy scenarios while their eye movements were tracked and recorded. Our findings reveal a significant gap in PIs effectiveness, particularly in high-engagement tasks, indicating a need for more eye-catching privacy notifications. These findings suggest the need f or redesigning some privacy interfaces to make them more effective. The study’s insights contribute to the broader discussion on balancing functionality with user privacy and the methodology of utilizing eye tracking in user experience research.