How much would you pay for privacy when it comes to mobile phone usage?

A recent study by two University of Colorado economists found that users were willing, on a per-app basis, to make one-time payments of $2.28 to conceal their browser history; $4.05 to hide their contacts list; $1.19 to conceal their location; $1.75 to conceal their phone's identification number; and $3.58 to hide the contents of their text messages. (Ever hear of Snapchat?) And they would pay $2.12 to eliminate advertising.

Those figures are cited in an article in The Guardian, which looked at AT&T's latest Internet service offering in Austin, Texas. The company is running a test there to offer two plans; the cheaper one includes a discount for users who agree to be targeted more intrusively than ever by user-specific advertising, according to the newspaper.

As the story notes, it's well established that users are the product being sold to others, with little recourse. But those issues are especially acute when it comes to mobile; app developers, for example, take liberties with personal privacy by demanding various "permissions" for downloading digital products.

That raises a need for tough laws to prevent people from being treated like mice in experimental labs, the author concludes, as well as end-to-end encryption of everything people do online.

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