# Self-Disclosure to an IoT Conversational Agent: Effects of Space and User Context on Users'
## 5 General Discussion  
### Self-Disclosure of Information to IoT-CAs  
Previous studies examining the use of IoT devices or IoT-CAs have tended to focus on the question of how to protect the information privacy of IoT users. However, only a few have distinguished information that users are willing and unwilling to disclose. It is inevitable that users will disclose their personal information in their interactions with IoT-CAs. The privacy and self-disclosure boundaries in these interactions should be defined by the users themselves on the basis of their user experience.  
The results of this study suggest that users were most willing to disclose information related to tastes and interests, which is in accordance with previous research on interpersonal face-to-face [21] and online [24] self-disclosure. This result can be explained in two respects. On the one hand, the information about tastes and interests can help IoT-CAs learn users' preferences (e.g., eating habits, leisure hobbies, and tastes in clothing) and provide them with personalized services [13]. Compared with other information types, users might think that the information about tastes and interests can make it easier to obtain rewarding feedback. On the other hand, social penetration theory argues that the intimacy of self-disclosure increases during the acquaintance process [2]; in the earliest stage of a relationship, the information disclosed between prospective partners is superficial (e.g., favorite foods, hobbies, and interests). In this study, users and IoT-CAs were in the initial stages of relationship development (i.e., users just started to use the IoT-CA and are becoming familiar with it); thus, the information that users were willing to disclose is also the shallowest.  
In contrast to earlier findings on interpersonal self-disclosure that determined that people were least willing to disclose body information to others, users were least willing to disclose money information to an IoT-CA. This finding is consistent with current market situations in that users are reluctant to use IoT-CAs to buy things [53]. Researchers at Statista (an online market research portal) [54] pointed out that the top reasons that users do not adopt IoT-CAs for shopping are their concerns about providing payment and money-related information security. Users disclosed information for \"fair\" social exchanges [55], such as others' self-disclosure or material and emotional support. The disclosure of personal money information to IoT-CAs might do more harm (i.e., leaking personal financial information) than good (e.g., convenient shopping). Furthermore, when users disclose money information to human beings, they are usually seeking financial support or investment advice from others; users might not believe that IoT-CAs currently have the social capital or intelligence to provide financial support and advice. However, in terms of users' self-disclosure of body information, various IoT devices have been recently developed and applied for health care and monitoring [56; 57]. Users' body information is being collected and effectively used for the detection of personal conditions and future disease prevention. Therefore, users would like to disclose body-related information to IoT-CAs for personalized health care.