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Abstract

Of all the smartphone uses, the calling function is probably used the least. Rather, individuals more commonly use their smartphone for surfing the web, checking Facebook, and playing games. Highlighting the “smart” in smartphone, these phones often know more about their users’ daily activities than the users. Without requiring any sort of input, smartphones can tell the user how many steps they walk each day, when it is time to leave for work (also, of course, determining the traveling time with the most up-to-date traffic reports), and when an item recently ordered on Amazon will be delivered. Smartphone users may instinctively know that they could dig into their phones’ settings and turn off these features. They may also know that if their phones are telling them information about their daily activities, they are likely sharing that same information with third parties—targeted advertisements come to mind. Of course, all of the downloaded “apps” had some sort of agreement that the user probably did not read and just clicked “yes.” The reality is that people enjoy the conveniences offered by smartphones and give little thought to any privacy implications. In practice, it seems smartphone users are willing to trade their privacy to play Angry Birds.

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