earticle

영어

Contact-tracing applications have significantly contributed to mitigating the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), yet the extensive use of these location-based applications raises serious privacy concerns. Drawing on the Information-Motivation-Behavioral (IMB) skills model, our study investigated factors that influence users’ protective behaviors toward location privacy, elucidating the privacy paradox and the mediating role of implementation intention. Through an online survey conducted in China with 311 participants, we found that privacy concerns and privacy awareness positively affected the use of mobile location service settings, with privacy concerns mediating the relationship between privacy awareness and the intention to protect privacy. Furthermore, our study demonstrated the privacy paradox, revealing the pivotal mediating role of implementation intentions in bridging the gap between users’ intentions and their actual behaviors. This study offers new perspectives on the privacy paradox, particularly through the lens of implementation intention, and provides valuable insights for motivating greater use of contact-tracing applications. It offers both theoretical and practical guidance for stakeholders to address privacy concerns during global pandemics like COVID-19, thereby encouraging a more widespread and responsible engagement with technology in public health.