Does Transparency Matter in Opaque Product Markets? Insights from Privacy

Last registered on June 11, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Does Transparency Matter in Opaque Product Markets? Insights from Privacy
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016037
Initial registration date
June 02, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
June 11, 2025, 6:31 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Guy Aridor
Affiliation
Northwestern Kellogg
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Samuel Goldberg
PI Affiliation
Stanford GSB
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-06-03
End date
2025-08-09
Keywords
Welfare
Additional Keywords
Privacy
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We examine the implications of providing privacy information online via a real-world information provision experiment.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Aridor, Guy and Samuel Goldberg. 2025. "Does Transparency Matter in Opaque Product Markets? Insights from Privacy." AEA RCT Registry. June 11. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16037-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Our intervention randomizes exposure to information about website privacy practices.
Intervention (Hidden)
Our intervention randomizes exposure to information about website practices in order to evaluate the welfare implications of privacy regulation online and the design of disclosure regulation. We also restrict third-party cookies in order to provide exogenous variation in data sharing practices and identify a model of endogenous product characteristics. Please see PDF for additional information.
Intervention Start Date
2025-06-28
Intervention End Date
2025-08-09

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Attitudes and behavior
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Please see write-up.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Our experiment utilizes a browsing extension to implement an information intervention and observe browsing behavior. The experiment consists of two treatment groups and one control group.
Experimental Design Details
Our experimental intervention provides exogenous variation in information frictions around privacy practices online. In one treatment condition, individuals are given easier access to privacy policies of websites that they use. In the other treatment condition, individuals are given condensed information about the privacy practices of websites. At the end of the primary intervention period, we randomize the introduction of third-party cookie deletion in order to provide exogenous variation in data sharing. Please see the PDF for additional details.
Randomization Method
Our randomization unit is at the individual level. We block randomize to balance demographics and browsing behavior using a script we execute on our computers.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Aiming for 1500-5000 participants
Sample size: planned number of observations
Aiming for 1500-5000 participants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Aiming for 500-1666 participants in each treatment arm
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Northwestern University Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2025-05-30
IRB Approval Number
STU00219374
IRB Name
Stanford University Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2025-05-30
IRB Approval Number
70020
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials