Human Gaps in the Data Economy: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors Toward Online Tracking and Data Ownership

This exploratory survey of 79 university-affiliated adults in Saudi Arabia investigates whether awareness of online tracking is associated with privacy-protective behavior, using the Knowledge–Attitude–Behavior (KAB) model as an organizing lens. We focus on browser fingerprinting, a complex and largely invisible tracking method for which the KAB sequence has not been examined. Descriptive and inferential analyses of the survey responses reveal three patterns. First, a fingerprinting-specific privacy paradox: 59.5% of participants expressed high concern about fingerprinting yet reported no anti-fingerprinting extension use, even though most of them did use other privacy measures such as incognito mode or cookie deletion. Second, 88.6% reported using at least one privacy measure that does not address fingerprinting (e.g., incognito mode, Do Not Track), pointing to a gap between the measures adopted and those that provide effective protection. Third, no statistically significant association between fingerprinting knowledge and concern was detected in this sample (r = 0.11, p = 0.36, 95% CI [−0.12, +0.32]), a result consistent with either no association or a small effect that the sample could not detect. These findings can inform privacy education by highlighting the need for targeted guidance that goes beyond general awareness. They also raise the question of whether formal data rights translate into practical control over advanced tracking—a proposition that larger, more representative studies should test directly.