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.

翻译：YouTube平台上的网红VPN广告（赞助内容片段）经常传播关于VPN乃至更广泛安全与隐私领域的误导性信息。然而，这些广告如何（或是否）影响用户对VPN的认知和理解尚不明确。本研究探讨了YouTube VPN广告曝光与用户对VPN、安全及隐私心智模型之间的关系。我们采用一种新型VPN广告检测模型，通过217名参与者的YouTube观看历史计算其广告曝光量，并开发量表来刻画其心智模型与VPN广告中常见宣称内容的关系。通过（预先注册的）基于回归的分析，我们发现VPN广告曝光与VPN品牌熟悉度及对（夸大的）威胁的信念增强呈显著相关。这些威胁虽非VPN特有，却常在VPN广告中被讨论。相比之下，尽管许多参与者认同广告中常见的事实性与误导性VPN心智模型，但我们未发现VPN广告曝光与这些心智模型存在显著相关性。这些发现表明，若VPN广告确实影响心智模型，其作用主要体现于情感层面（即威胁感知）而非技术认知层面。