Understanding privacy knowledge and skill in mobile communication

• Mobile privacy among young adults from a marginalized community were examined.
• Privacy knowledge and skill were limited with misguided confidence.
• Interestingly, a high level of mobile familiarity did not translate into knowledge.
• The frequent daily mobile use was not associated with privacy knowledge and skill.

This study aims to examine mobile-based privacy literacy among young adults across characteristics of mobile use, basic mobile familiarity, and socio-demographic factors. We investigate privacy knowledge and skill among the African American young adults, adopting a mixed design of quantitative and qualitative inquiries. The results showed that less than half of the interviewed users possessed (1) basic information and locational privacy knowledge, (2) privacy skills, and (3) awareness of risk associated with commercial mobile environments. Interestingly, a high level of mobile familiarity did not translate into knowledge as the frequent daily mobile use was not associated with privacy knowledge and skill. In-depth interviews also indicated that functional confusion and misguided confidence confounded the low mobile knowledge and skills. These findings have implications for consumer policy and hint on the need that the FTC in its broader digital literacy initiative incorporates the information need of young adult users among underserved communities.