Redmorph x Carnegie Mellon: Research study examines Redmorph user experience
Written by Emma Flickinger
Consumer privacy tools are crucial for controlling what happens to personal data online. But what’s more important than privacy tools? Usable privacy tools.
Redmorph aims to demystify online privacy by helping all users — not just jargon-savvy tech experts — understand how personal data can be compromised online, and what actions everyday users can take to preserve their privacy. To stay on track with this goal, it’s important to keep abreast of how users feel about Redmorph’s privacy tools. To evaluate where Redmorph’s app is most effective and where it needs more fine-tuning, Redmorph partnered with researchers in Carnegie Mellon University’s Privacy Engineering master’s program.
Researchers Claire Lai, Jianlan Zhu, Sharada Boda, and Ting Lu conducted a detailed study on the useability of the Redmorph app, aiming to find out how the app helps users learn about privacy, and which aspects of the app are most helpful and most confusing to users. They interviewed study participants when they were new to the app, and again after a week of using the app. Users also kept a diary on their interactions with the app throughout the week.
Most users reported that the Redmorph app was easy to use. Their favorite features? Redmorph’s Spyderweb visualization, which displays in a graphic all the and third-party trackers and sites the user’s browser is connected to by the sites they visit, and the app’s dashboard, which displays live the attacks being blocked by the app.
The majority of the users in the study reported that they felt better about online security and privacy after installing the app. “By installing Redmorph and disabling the network or enabling protections on the app,” the researchers explain, “they felt that they were proactively taking actions to improve their personal security.” Users noted that installing the app wasn’t what made them feel proactive — it was configuring the settings that gave them a detailed, highly customizable level of control.
The #1 thing users wanted from the app? More information. Study participants, especially those from technical backgrounds, wanted more in-depth information on the trackers displayed on the Spyderweb before deciding whether to block them. Average users wanted to be more informed on the technical terms used (for instance, “trackers”) — more explicit definitions, and more information about the different options available to them for customizing their privacy controls.
It’s important that all users, regardless of how much technical knowledge they have, feel informed and confident enough to take control over their online privacy. This thorough study will provide important guidance as Redmorph refines privacy tools with useability in mind.
