  Many of us make quick decisions that affect our data privacy on our
smartphones without due consideration of our values. One such decision point is
establishing whether to download a smartphone app or not. In this work, we aim
to better understand the relationship between our values, our privacy
preferences, and our app choices, as well as explore the effectiveness of a
smartphone value-centered privacy assistant (VcPA) at promoting value-centered
app selection. To do this, we conducted a mixed-methods study that involved two
phases. The first was an online survey of 273 smartphone user's values and
privacy preferences when considering whether to download one of two apps (Lose
It! and OpenLitterMap). Our results suggest that values and privacy preferences
are related in an app or context-dependent manner. The second phase was testing
the VcPA with 77 users in a synthetic Mock App Store setting. We established
usability of a VcPA, with the VcPA helping some users more than others with
selecting apps consistent with their selected value profile. Future qualitative
and context-specific explorations of user perspectives could contribute to
adequately capturing the specific role of values for privacy decision-making
and improving the VcPA.
