Understanding the influence of privacy protection functions on continuance usage of push notification service

Purpose Push notification service (PNS) is an important approach to distribute personalized information to users timely and is getting more and more popular. However, users' privacy concerns are a major inhibiting factor in their continuance usage of PNS. This study investigates the effect of privacy protection functions provided by PNS sites in enhancing users' perceived fairness on the basis of justice theory to mitigate users' concerns of information privacy. The mechanism underlying such influence on users' continuance usage of PNS comprises privacy concern and privacy-control self-efficacy. Design/methodology/approach Four scenario-based surveys are conducted to test the proposed hypotheses. The authors test the research model with a sample of 360 participants by ANOVA and PLS. Findings Results show that the proposed privacy protection functions have direct positive effects on users' privacy-control self-efficacy, negative effects on privacy concern and indirectly affect their continuance usage of PNS. Furthermore, the interaction effects between two approaches have different impacts on users' privacy concern and privacy-control self-efficacy. Originality/value This study provides some suggestions and guidance for PNS providers to design effective privacy protection technologies.