  In this study, we explore the effectiveness of persuasive messages endorsing
the adoption of a privacy protection technology (IoT Inspector) tailored to
individuals' regulatory focus (promotion or prevention). We explore if and how
regulatory fit (i.e., tuning the goal-pursuit mechanism to individuals'
internal regulatory focus) can increase persuasion and adoption. We conducted a
between-subject experiment (N = 236) presenting participants with the IoT
Inspector in gain ("Privacy Enhancing Technology" -- PET) or loss ("Privacy
Preserving Technology" -- PPT) framing. Results show that the effect of
regulatory fit on adoption is mediated by trust and privacy calculus processes:
prevention-focused users who read the PPT message trust the tool more.
Furthermore, privacy calculus favors using the tool when promotion-focused
individuals read the PET message. We discuss the contribution of understanding
the cognitive mechanisms behind regulatory fit in privacy decision-making to
support privacy protection.
