``I Just Press Allow'': Understanding Privacy Practices of New Internet Users in Urban India
Authors: Priyanka Popuri (BITS Pilani, Hyderabad), Srishti Sanghi (The University of Sydney), Sri Lekha Mondreti (BITS Pilani, Hyderabad), Dipanjan Chakraborty (BITS Pilani, Hyderabad)
Volume: 2026
Issue: 2
Pages: 180–197
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56553/popets-2026-0043
Abstract: In rapidly digitizing countries, like India, many people are adopting the Internet for the first time through smartphones. Such new users, with little prior exposure to digital systems, face applications and services that access personal and private data, often leaving no agency with the users to exercise a choice. This creates an imbalance between the power of data-driven platforms and the limited digital literacy of users, raising urgent privacy and security concerns. While prior research has studied experienced Internet populations, far less is known about how first-time users in the emerging markets think about and act on privacy risks. We present findings from interviews with 50 new Internet users in India, spanning diverse social and economic backgrounds. Our study shows that privacy is often managed by family members and local intermediaries, with users depending on them for key decisions. Participants held incomplete or inaccurate understandings of data collection, while prioritizing visible threats like fraud and device theft. The findings reveal a mismatch between formal privacy controls and the realities of everyday practice. We outline design and policy directions to support consent and security in ways that reflect the experiences of new Internet users.
Keywords: privacy, new internet users, security, interdependent privacy, resigned consent, tactical agency, pragmatic privacy
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