Evaluating Smart Home Device Users’ Responses to their (Un)Confirmed Privacy Expectations

Abstract

Users of smart home devices are often unaware of how their devices handle personal data. We examine how revealing these data practices influences users’ trust, satisfaction, and coping behaviors, including decisions to block device communications. Using Expectation-Confirmation Theory, we conducted two complementary studies to balance ecological validity with experimental control. An exploratory in-situ field study (N = 35) used network monitoring to reveal actual device traffic, and an online experiment (N = 132) presented simulated reports with manipulated levels of advertising-related communications. Across both studies, when data practices aligned with users’ expectations, satisfaction with the device’s data practices increased, strengthening intentions to continue using the device. Defensive responses, however, followed different pathways: satisfaction predicted willingness to block in the in-situ field study, whereas collection concerns were the primary predictor of blocking in the experiment. Together, these findings suggest how transparency reshapes attitudes and behaviors among existing smart-home users, underscoring the role of expectation confirmation in real-world, continued-use contexts.