User Perspective on Anonymity in Voice Assistants

In recent years, a growing importance of voice assistants can be observed. Looking more closely at the use of voice assistants, it becomes clear that everyday users of voice assistants are still in the minority, at least in Germany. Previous empirical studies have already found a correlation between the use of voice assistants and the trust in these technologies, as well as concerns about data security. However, there is so far little evidence on whether there are correlations between individual user characteristics and both perceived trust and security concerns. Furthermore, it is also unclear to what extent these user characteristics are generally related to use or non-use. In this paper, the design of a study is presented that surveyed various user characteristics such as technical experience, Big Five personality, willingness to use and experience in dealing with digital technologies, but also the trust in voice assistants, concerns about data security and the actual use of voice assistants within the framework of an online survey. After evaluating the results, attitudes of non-users towards voice assistants will be investigated in a second qualitative survey. The insights gained from these surveys could promote the acceptance of voice assistants and especially the introduction of anonymisation methods.