Empowering Users: End User Development for Mobile Applications Privacy Management

Smartphones have become integral to everyday life, and despite the many advantages they bring, they also raise privacy and security concerns, particularly regarding non-transparent, unauthorized, or malicious data collection risks. While users are aware of these issues, the means the smartphone's operating system provides to manage the applications' permissions and protect personal data often prove challenging or overwhelming for non-technical users. In this context, this article introduces Privacy Manager, a mobile application designed for Android devices that relies on an End-User Development (EUD) approach to offer personalized data protection and privacy security measures to bridge the gap for regular users. The application facilitates effective management of permissions granted to installed applications through user-friendly interfaces and customizable settings, enhancing user awareness and control over their data. A validation study was carried out with 8 participants over a week. The study involved an initial questionnaire followed by a week-long period of real-world application usage. It concluded with a final questionnaire with an assessment using the System Usability Scale (SUS).