Nano-Notice: Privacy Disclosure at a Mobile Scale

How can meaningful privacy policies best be provided to users of mobile devices with small screens? “Natural language” policies are far too long, according to the authors, so many app developers, particularly the “long tail” of smaller companies and individual developers, are likely to turn to free software services that automatically generate concise privacy policies. This article examines two of those tools, TRUSTe and Privacy Choice, which were used to create privacy policies that were then tested by the authors, with comparative results on formats, users' preferences, types of data collection, and personally identifiable information. The authors conclude with a discussion of policy implications and specific advice for designing such notices.