This paper studies the impact of privacy policies on consumer data-sharing behavior, focusing on recent privacy policy changes in California and Virginia that took effect on January 1, 2023. Using data from a leading customer engagement app in the US, where users share shopping information by uploading receipts, we employ a difference-in-differences strategy to analyze how these policies influence both the volume and variety of information shared. Our findings show a 27.1 percent increase in receipt uploads in treated states compared to control states after the policy. Beyond the volume of data shared, we also observe an increase in the variety of information, including a broader range of store types, locations, and retailer categories. We use Google Search Volume Index data further to show heightened interest in privacy topics in treated states, indicating greater privacy awareness among residents. These findings suggest that privacy regulations can drive consumers to share more data and engage more actively with digital platforms by bringing more transparency and awareness about consumer privacy.
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