Proceedings of the ACM CHI Conference on Human Fac
Proceedings of the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Proceedings Year 2020 Peer-reviewed
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Computer Science · Research

Evaluating the End-User Experience of Private Browsing Mode

Ruba Abu-Salma Benjamin Livshits
CHI
Venue
Peer-reviewed
Type
2020
Publication year
§ Abstract

Problem

In this paper, we investigate why users of private browsing mode misunderstand the benefits and limitations of private browsing. We design and conduct a three-part study: (1) an analytic evaluation of the user interface of private mode in different browsers; (2) a qualitative user study to explore user mental models of private browsing; (3) a participatory design study to investigate why existing browser disclosures, the in- browser explanations of private mode, do not communicate the actual protection of private mode.

Approach

We find the user interface of private mode in different browsers violated well-established design guidelines and heuristics. Fur- ther, most participants had incorrect mental models of private browsing, influencing their understanding and usage of private mode.

Results

We also find existing browser disclosures did not ex- plain the primary security goal of private mode. Drawing from the results of our study, we extract a set of recommendations to improve the design of disclosures.

Cite this paper — BibTeX 
@InProceedings{chi20ruba,
  author = "Ruba Abu-Salma and Benjamin Livshits",
  title = "Evaluating the End-User Experience of Private Browsing Mode",
  booktitle = "Proceedings of the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Proceedings",
  month = apr,
  year = 2020,
}
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