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As Advertised? Understanding the Impact of Influencer VPN Ads

Omer Akgul, Richard Roberts, Emma Shroyer, Dave Levin, Michelle L. Mazurek

TL;DR

The paper investigates whether YouTube influencer VPN ads shape users' security/privacy mental models. Using a three-stage design and a novel BERT-based VPN ad detector, it measures ad exposure from 217 participants' YouTube histories and links exposure to both VPN-brand familiarity and threat beliefs through preregistered regressions. The main findings show a strong association between ad exposure and brand familiarity, and a link to elevated belief in hyperbolic threats, but no robust link to specific factual or misinformation about VPN capabilities; effects appear to be driven more by emotion than technical content. These results suggest VPN ads influence readers' threat perceptions and brand knowledge, with important implications for consumer education and advertising integrity in security/privacy tools.

Abstract

Influencer VPN ads (sponsored segments) on YouTube often disseminate misleading information about both VPNs, and security & privacy more broadly. However, it remains unclear how (or whether) these ads affect users' perceptions and knowledge about VPNs. In this work, we explore the relationship between YouTube VPN ad exposure and users' mental models of VPNs, security, and privacy. We use a novel VPN ad detection model to calculate the ad exposure of 217 participants via their YouTube watch histories, and we develop scales to characterize their mental models in relation to claims commonly made in VPN ads. Through (pre-registered) regression-based analysis, we find that exposure to VPN ads is significantly correlated with familiarity with VPN brands and increased belief in (hyperbolic) threats. While not specific to VPNs, these threats are often discussed in VPN ads. In contrast, although many participants agree with both factual and misleading mental models of VPNs that often appear in ads, we find no significant correlation between exposure to VPN ads and these mental models. These findings suggest that, if VPN ads do impact mental models, then it is predominantly emotional (i.e., threat perceptions) rather than technical.

As Advertised? Understanding the Impact of Influencer VPN Ads

TL;DR

The paper investigates whether YouTube influencer VPN ads shape users' security/privacy mental models. Using a three-stage design and a novel BERT-based VPN ad detector, it measures ad exposure from 217 participants' YouTube histories and links exposure to both VPN-brand familiarity and threat beliefs through preregistered regressions. The main findings show a strong association between ad exposure and brand familiarity, and a link to elevated belief in hyperbolic threats, but no robust link to specific factual or misinformation about VPN capabilities; effects appear to be driven more by emotion than technical content. These results suggest VPN ads influence readers' threat perceptions and brand knowledge, with important implications for consumer education and advertising integrity in security/privacy tools.

Abstract

Influencer VPN ads (sponsored segments) on YouTube often disseminate misleading information about both VPNs, and security & privacy more broadly. However, it remains unclear how (or whether) these ads affect users' perceptions and knowledge about VPNs. In this work, we explore the relationship between YouTube VPN ad exposure and users' mental models of VPNs, security, and privacy. We use a novel VPN ad detection model to calculate the ad exposure of 217 participants via their YouTube watch histories, and we develop scales to characterize their mental models in relation to claims commonly made in VPN ads. Through (pre-registered) regression-based analysis, we find that exposure to VPN ads is significantly correlated with familiarity with VPN brands and increased belief in (hyperbolic) threats. While not specific to VPNs, these threats are often discussed in VPN ads. In contrast, although many participants agree with both factual and misleading mental models of VPNs that often appear in ads, we find no significant correlation between exposure to VPN ads and these mental models. These findings suggest that, if VPN ads do impact mental models, then it is predominantly emotional (i.e., threat perceptions) rather than technical.
Paper Structure (58 sections, 1 equation, 4 figures, 6 tables)

This paper contains 58 sections, 1 equation, 4 figures, 6 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Contributions
  3. Background and Related Work
  4. VPN uses and mental models
  5. Information on YouTube
  6. Misleading ads
  7. Risk Communication
  8. Modeling the Influence of Ads
  9. Methods
  10. Study design
  11. Screener stage
  12. Tutorial stage
  13. Data collection server & upload portal
  14. Final stage
  15. Piloting and preliminary study
  16. ...and 43 more sections

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: Ad classifier overview. In this example, "now usually when" is not part of an ad, the rest are.
  • Figure 2: Brand familiarity and VPN ad exposure for each brand. Red diamonds denote the means. Familiarity ranges from "not at all familiar" (1) to "very familiar" (7).
  • Figure 3: Two-lines analysis. Regression lines (separated by the breakpoint) were color-coded and shifted for clarity. Left regression on threat mental models fits significantly.
  • Figure 4: Attack-asset pairs participants said VPNs would protect against. Band width corresponds to number of responses. Pairs with fewer than five responses not shown.