Work

Exploring the Impact of Modality and Speech Rate Manipulation in Voice Permission Requests—Limits of Applicability and Potential for Influencing Decision-Making

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: As voice-enabled technologies are becoming increasingly more prevalent, voice-enabled permission requests become a crucial topic of investigation. It is yet unclear how to appropriately inform users in voice user interfaces (VUIs) about data processing practices. To understand how modality (text vs. voice) and the speech rate of the voice can influence users’ perceptions and decisions to grant permission, we conducted two preregistered studies (N = 343 and N = 594) and one pre-study, including two listening tasks to design potentially deceptive voice patterns. We found that users can distinguish between different levels of intrusiveness in the voice modality. However, they are less likely to accept voice-based permissions, pointing to cognitive problems associated with them. Moreover, we found that speech rate manipulations of action verbs “Accept” and “Decline” shifted users’ decisions towards acceptance, making the effect less controllable than predicted. This work highlights implications and design considerations for future voice-enabled permission requests.

Source: International Journal of Human-Computer Studies

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2025.103590

Authors: Anna Leschanowsky, Anastasia Sergeeva, Judith Bauer, Sheetal Vijapurapu, Mateusz Dubiel

Institutions: Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, University of Luxembourg

Language: English

Topic: Privacy, Security, and Data Protection

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,510

Funders: European Commission, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme