Examining Caregiving Roles to Differentiate the Effects of Using a Mobile App for Community Oversight for Privacy and Security

We conducted a 4-week field study with 101 smartphone users who self-organized into 22 small groups of family, friends, and neighbors to use ``CO-oPS,‘’ a mobile app for co-managing mobile privacy and security. We differentiated between those who provided oversight (i.e., caregivers) and those who did not (i.e., caregivees) to examine differential effects on their experiences and behaviors while using CO-oPS. Caregivers reported higher power use, community trust, belonging, collective efficacy, and self-efficacy than caregivees. Both groups’ self-efficacy and collective efficacy for mobile privacy and security increased after using CO-oPS. However, this increase was significantly stronger for caregivees. Our research demonstrates how community-based approaches can benefit people who need additional help managing their digital privacy and security. We provide recommendations to support community-based oversight for managing privacy and security within communities of different roles and skills.