Providing Choices Makes App Designs More Responsible
Smartphone apps are an important part of our lives: they provide information, offer games and entertainment, help with banking or travel arrangements, and connect us via social media apps, to name just a few examples. But app producers are increasingly being criticized for keeping people tied to their apps for too long, causing addictive behavior in young people, and encouraging us to share data freely.
The app industry is a huge market: according to the MindSea platform, in 2023, over 6 million apps generated revenues of US$550 to US$900 billion, with an annual growth rate of 19.5%. People spent an average of 4.8 hours a day using apps, primarily social networks and communication tools.
But why are apps so captivating? Many apps deliberately use elements of behavioral design (e.g., personalized feeds, push notifications, reward mechanisms) to increase interaction with the app and thus also the time spent using it. Behavioral design brings knowledge and insights from psychology and behavioral economics into product design, which increases user loyalty to apps. This targeted user manipulation can be economically successful, but it raises ethical questions about autonomy, transparency, and possible harmful side effects.
Experiment with a news app
In a new study, researchers Christina Timko and Maja Adena (WZB) empirically investigated whether the app producers' goal of increasing user retention is compatible with greater transparency and user choice. To this end, they conducted an experiment: in a field setting, 141 students used a news app developed specifically for this experiment with news content from Germany over a period of 14 days. The participants were randomly assigned to different versions of the app. One version was deliberately designed to be simple and contained only basic functions. A second version made targeted use of behavioral design elements—such as personalized feeds, push notifications, and reward mechanisms—to increase usage. A third version provided understandable information about these functions and choice options, such as turning off push notifications or filtering content.
The result: behavioral design can keep people using apps for longer. However, if they receive transparent information and choice, they use the app for shorter periods of time and feel more autonomous. At the same time, their willingness to pay for the app increases. Transparency therefore pays off – both for people who use apps and for those who develop them.
The two authors even drew a comparison from Greek mythology: "Odysseus’ story about avoiding the Sirens’ behavioral control over his free choice illustrates the problem of tempting apps and the solution in form of prior awareness raising and based on that, informed decision-making and self-regulation, as it is offered in the choice version of the study app. Nevertheless, the choice version does not kill pleasure, since it is convenient to use and still offers the entire range of behavioral design elements. Just like Odysseus still enjoyed listening to the Sirens while having taken care to protect himself."
The article appeared in the European Economic Review’s special issue in honour of researcher Nora Szech, who had long been associated with the WZB.
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