Study shows that privacy and security play a minor role in people’s decision to use instant messaging

A recent study conducted by researchers from Google and Carnegie Mellon University shows that peer influence is what primarily drives people to use a particular mobile instant messaging application, and that security and privacy play a minor role. When it comes to the use of encryption, the study shows that most surveyed participants either have not heard of encrypted instant messaging, or have heard, but are not using them. In addition, there were discrepancies identified between what users assume and the reality: some of the study participants stated that they use encrypted messaging apps, while in fact the apps they mentioned as using were not encrypted.