A user-centric evaluation of the readability of privacy policies in popular web sites

Ravi Inder Singh (), Manasa Sumeeth () and James Miller ()
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Ravi Inder Singh: University of Alberta
Manasa Sumeeth: University of Alberta
James Miller: University of Alberta

Information Systems Frontiers, 2011, vol. 13, issue 4, No 5, 514 pages

Abstract: Abstract This paper reports on a formal subject-based experiment, which seeks to evaluate the readability of privacy policy statements found on the Internet. This experiment uses 50 participants and privacy policies collected from 10 of the most popular web sites on the Internet. It evaluates, using a cloze test, the subjects’ ability to comprehend the content of these privacy policies. The paper also compares its results with the results from previous studies on this topic. In general, it finds that privacy policies are “difficult” to comprehend.

Keywords: Cloze test; Privacy policies; Privacy statements; Top ten privacy statements; Readability formulas; Triangulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10796-010-9228-2

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