Personalisation‐Privacy Paradox: Systematic Review and Survey Evidence on Personal Data Stores

ABSTRACT The personalisation–privacy paradox captures the tension between using personal data for personalised services and respecting individuals' privacy. This study adopts a holistic research framework to clarify the paradox's core challenges, review existing approaches, and examine a user‐centric solution. First, this study presents a systematic review of research on the personalisation–privacy paradox, drawing on studies published in information systems, marketing and management journals. The review shows that current approaches often frame the paradox as a ‘dilemma,’ prioritising privacy at the expense of personalisation, rather than recognising it as a persistent tension between the two. We then review broader categories of privacy‐enhancing technologies (PETs), highlighting that user‐side, server‐side, and channel‐side solutions provide partial responses but rarely balance both demands. Against this backdrop, personal data stores (PDS) are examined as a hybrid approach that aims to give individuals greater control over their data while enabling more effective personalisation through selective sharing. Survey results indicate that privacy concerns are reduced when users better understand PDS, act rationally in weighing benefits and risks, and trust existing data protection regulations. These findings suggest that PDS have the potential to offer a synthetic response to the paradox by supporting both personalisation benefits and privacy protection.

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Publication Details

Journal
Expert Systems
Published
2026-05-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/exsy.70314
Primary Topic
Privacy, Security, and Data Protection
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Personalisation‐Privacy Paradox: Systematic Review and Survey Evidence on Personal Data Stores

Irene C. L. Ng, Ming-Wei Hsu, Glenn Parry
Expert Systems
Privacy, Security, and Data Protection
article

Personalisation‐Privacy Paradox: Systematic Review and Survey Evidence on Personal Data Stores

Irene C. L. Ng, Ming-Wei Hsu, Glenn Parry
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT The personalisation–privacy paradox captures the tension between using personal data for personalised services and respecting individuals' privacy. This study adopts a holistic research framework to clarify the paradox's core challenges, review existing approaches, and examine a user‐centric solution. First, this study presents a systematic review of research on the personalisation–privacy paradox, drawing on studies published in information systems, marketing and management journals. The review shows that current approaches often frame the paradox as a ‘dilemma,’ prioritising privacy at the expense of personalisation, rather than recognising it as a persistent tension between the two. We then review broader categories of privacy‐enhancing technologies (PETs), highlighting that user‐side, server‐side, and channel‐side solutions provide partial responses but rarely balance both demands. Against this backdrop, personal data stores (PDS) are examined as a hybrid approach that aims to give individuals greater control over their data while enabling more effective personalisation through selective sharing. Survey results indicate that privacy concerns are reduced when users better understand PDS, act rationally in weighing benefits and risks, and trust existing data protection regulations. These findings suggest that PDS have the potential to offer a synthetic response to the paradox by supporting both personalisation benefits and privacy protection.

Expert SystemsVol. 43(7)
University of Surrey (GB), Manchester School of Architecture (GB), University of Warwick (GB)
Peace, Justice and strong institutions
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Privacy, Security, and Data Protection
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