Too Many Zombies: Exploring Challenges and Motivations for (Not) Deleting Unused Online Accounts

Paper Title

Too Many Zombies: Exploring Challenges and Motivations for (Not) Deleting Unused Online Accounts

Publication Info

• Topic area: User behavior and challenges in managing unused online accounts ("zombie accounts").
• Keywords: Zombie accounts, account deletion, privacy, security, user behavior, motivations, opportune moments, triggers, self-efficacy, design recommendations.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Users accumulate unused online accounts ("zombie accounts") that retain personal data, posing privacy and security risks. However, users often underestimate the number of these accounts and face challenges in deleting them, including complicated procedures and lack of awareness or motivation.
• Significance: Zombie accounts increase vulnerability to data breaches, identity theft, and other privacy invasions. Addressing this issue could enhance digital security and reduce risks for users.
• Motivation and related work: Prior research, such as Liu et al. (2020), highlighted challenges in deleting mobile app accounts but did not explore opportune moments, motivations, or user support for deletion. Legal frameworks like GDPR and CCPA provide rights to data erasure but are often difficult for users to exercise. This paper builds on these gaps by investigating user challenges, motivations, and suitable moments for deleting zombie accounts.

Solution

• Proposed approach: Conducted two online studies to explore user challenges, motivations, and opportune moments for deleting zombie accounts, and derived design recommendations for deletion-support tools.
• Novelty:
  1. Empirical characterization of opportune moments for deleting zombie accounts.
  2. Identification of user challenges, motivations, and triggers for account deletion.
  3. Design recommendations for timing-aware, user-centered interventions.
  4. Insights into user confidence and self-efficacy in managing zombie accounts.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  1. Accounts Study: Surveyed 120 participants to identify common zombie account categories and refine a list of services.
  2. Challenges Study: Surveyed 100 participants to examine motivations, perceived abilities, triggers, and suitable moments for deletion.
  3. Analyzed data using descriptive statistics, correlation tests, and qualitative thematic analysis to derive insights and recommendations.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Users have an average of 53 zombie accounts, representing ~40% of their total accounts.
  • Common zombie account categories include shopping, communication, and software access.
  • Users underestimate the number of zombie accounts they have and often believe they actively use all their accounts.
  • Participants reported high self-efficacy (mean PCS score = 5.4) but lacked motivation (high amotivation scores).
  • Suitable moments for deletion include setting up a new device, updating account information, and browsing online.
• Advantage over baselines:
  • Identified specific opportune moments and triggers (e.g., breach notifications, financial data sensitivity) that increase the likelihood of deletion.
  • Provided actionable design recommendations tailored to user behavior and preferences.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Accounts Study: Participants reviewed a list of 2,559 services, identifying zombie accounts. Results showed high agreement rates (>85%) on zombie account identification.
  • Challenges Study: Explored user motivations, abilities, and triggers using validated scales (UMI, PCS) and qualitative feedback. Participants preferred reminders every 1–3 months and deletion tasks lasting 1–15 minutes.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Self-reported data may not fully capture actual user behavior.
  • Results are limited to U.S. participants and may not generalize to other regions.
  • Future research could use objective measures (e.g., email analysis) to estimate zombie account prevalence and explore cultural differences.

Summary

This paper investigates the challenges and motivations for deleting unused online accounts ("zombie accounts") through two online studies with U.S. participants. Findings reveal that users underestimate their zombie accounts, face procedural challenges, and lack motivation despite high self-efficacy. Suitable moments for deletion include setting up new devices and updating accounts, while triggers like breach notifications and financial data sensitivity increase willingness to delete. The study provides actionable design recommendations for tools to support account deletion, including personalized reminders and context-aware prompts. These insights contribute to improving user security and privacy practices.