Smartphones have become daily companions and store many personal information, including contact lists, photos, and videos. Even though users download smartphone apps for various purposes, they are also data collection instruments. Within the Protection Motivation Theory research streamline, the present research focuses from a comparative perspective on young adults’ concerns and engagement with privacy protection behaviors while setting up smartphone apps. Aiming to assess how threat and coping appraisals relate to privacy protection behavior from a comparative perspective, we conducted an online survey ( N = 931) in Germany ( n = 479) and Romania ( n = 452) with young adults (age 18–26 years). Findings showed differences between the two countries in the sense that individuals’ overarching privacy attitudes transfer to and manifest in the context-specific behavior of setting up apps. For German young adults, susceptibility and severity of the data collection by companies are positively related to privacy protection behavior while setting up apps. Romanians are confident that they can protect their data by setting up apps. For German and Romanian young adults, self-efficacy in online communication was related to response efficacy of privacy protection while configuring apps.

中文翻译：

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了解年轻人在设置智能手机应用程序时从事隐私保护行为的动机：罗马尼亚和德国的跨国比较


智能手机已成为日常伴侣，并存储许多个人信息，包括联系人列表、照片和视频。尽管用户出于各种目的下载智能手机应用程序，但它们也是数据收集工具。在保护动机理论研究精简版中，本研究从比较的角度关注年轻人在设置智能手机应用程序时对隐私保护行为的关注和参与。为了从比较的角度评估威胁和应对评估与隐私保护行为的关系，我们在德国 （n = 931） 和罗马尼亚 （n = 452） 对年轻人（18-26 岁）进行了一项在线调查 （n = 479）。研究结果显示，这两个国家之间存在差异，因为个人的总体隐私态度会转移到设置应用程序的特定上下文行为中并表现出来。对于德国年轻人来说，公司收集数据的敏感性和严重性与设置应用程序时的隐私保护行为呈正相关。罗马尼亚人有信心他们可以通过设置应用程序来保护他们的数据。对于德国和罗马尼亚的年轻人，在线交流的自我效能感与配置应用程序时隐私保护的反应效能有关。