Users’ activity logs: the good, the bad, the misconception and the disastrous

Purpose Most prior studies focused on the negative side of users’ activity logs, such as users’ lack of awareness about the logs’ privacy controls and users’ privacy concerns about their data. This paper aims to provide a balanced view of users’ perceptions regarding activity logs by considering the positive, negative and extremely negative sides, as well as the misconceptions of activity logs. Design/methodology/approach The author conducted a secondary analysis of interview data from 30 Google personal account holders in Saudi Arabia. Using template analysis, the author analyzed the data from the lens of four key themes: the good, the bad, the misconception and the disastrous aspects of users’ activity logs from the users’ perspective. Findings Participants identified positive aspects of Google’s Activity controls, such as saving browsing history and bookmarks, synchronization, security and safety and parental control. They also identified negative aspects, such as a lack of knowledge of Google’s data practices and the presence of Google’s Activity controls, privacy concerns and biased content. Some features, such as tailored ads, were controversial. The author identified misconceptions among participants, such as confusion between local browsing history and cloud-based activity logs and between security and privacy measures. Participants raised serious concerns about Google’s Activity controls, such as unauthorized logins and data breaches. Originality/value The main contribution of this paper is offering a balanced view of users’ perceptions of activity logs and providing a better understanding and a useful source for subsequent studies on related topics. The author offers a set of practical recommendations for service providers, security and privacy researchers and experts and users alike.