Doing Research Online: How to Incorporate Privacy, Data Rights and Data Justice into Social Research of Smartphone Apps

The aim of this guide is twofold. The first aim is to provide a theoretical overview of research on smartphone apps, highlighting the difference between ‘data rights’ and ‘data justice’ approaches. We will demonstrate the importance of considering opt-out as part of a theoretical framework that can inform the legal, technical, and social analysis of smartphone apps.

The second aim is to provide a practical toolkit to support researchers who want to analyse smartphone apps from the data justice perspective. Using our research on health apps as a case study, we will introduce readers to the following three areas of research on smartphone apps. First, a close reading of materials and documents external to the app, such as the app’s website or app store profile, Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies, by using relevant assessment criteria including General Data Protection Regulation and other legal frameworks. Second, a technical analysis of how the app is handling personal data, including where and how the data are shared, using the ‘track the tracker’ method. Third, a social analysis of using the app, including the way it communicates with the user from the moment of installation, during use, and on deactivation, by using the ‘app walkthrough’ method. We will offer recommendations for how to tailor the toolkit for different areas of social research that might involve apps and outline the benefits of combining legal, technical, and social frameworks.