Study Finds More British Internet Users Concerned About Data Privacy Than Losing Their Income
TRUSTe/NCSA Consumer Privacy Index Reveals Rising Consumer Concerns and a Significant Awareness Deficit; Businesses Pay as Privacy Concerns Discourage Consumers
LONDON, Jan. 28, 2016 – The TRUSTe/National Cyber Security Alliance GB Consumer Privacy Index reveals the extent of current consumer privacy concerns with noticeably more Brits concerned about not knowing how the personal information collected about them online is being used than losing their principal source of income. Released to coincide with the ninth Data Privacy Day on 28 January 2016, the study found that online privacy concerns topped the loss of personal income by 10 percentage points, even as only 1 in 4 Brits report they understand how companies collect their personal information. Likewise, the business impact of consumers’ privacy concerns remains high with 89 percent avoiding companies they don’t believe protect their privacy and 76 percent of those who worry about their privacy online limiting their online activity in the last 12 months due to their concerns.
Michael Kaiser, Executive Director National Cyber-Security Alliance commented,
“Consumers are increasingly aware, interested and concerned about their privacy and they’re acting on it. However, if Internet users knew more, they would do more. The research points to an awareness-action shortfall that belies a growing confidence in British Internet Users’ personal ability to protect their online data.
“As the vast amounts of data being collected, exchanged and stored online increases, NCSA urges all digital citizens to own their online presence and manage their privacy. We encourage consumers to use available tools and take actionable steps to manage their privacy such as limiting access on social media, keeping all apps, software and devices updated and understanding that their personal information – just like money – has great value and thus, should be protected.”
Just 54 percent of British Internet users trust businesses with their personal information online, exposing a remarkably lacking level of trust. To close this gap, it appears consumers are demanding more transparency in exchange for trust and want to be able to control how data is collected, used and shared with simpler tools to help them manage their privacy online. 51 percent don’t feel they have control over any personal information they may have provided online, 35 percent think protecting personal information online is too complex and 43 percent of those who worry about their privacy online say companies providing clear procedures for removing personal information would increase trust.
Chris Babel, CEO TRUSTe added,
“Consumer privacy concern is real and rising and businesses need to act now to rebuild trust with their customers before it hurts the bottom line through lost clicks, downloads and sales. With 3 out of 4 Brits who worry about their privacy online modifying their online activity last year due to privacy concerns this research shows privacy is not just good practice it is simply good business.”
Interestingly given the recent introduction of the so-called ‘Right to be Forgotten’ for Europeans in the EU General Data Protection Regulation, 60 percent already think they have the right to be forgotten. With the recent terrorist attacks in Paris the month before this survey was conducted, there has been a fall in the numbers who think online privacy is more important than national security (36 percent) down nine percentage points from last year’s study. Only 3 in 10 percent think losing online privacy is a part of being more connected.
The TRUSTe/National Cyber Security Alliance GB Consumer Privacy Index 2016 is based on data from an online survey conducted by Ipsos MORI with 1,000 British Internet users aged 16-75 from 17-22 December 2015. The research was commissioned by TRUSTe and the NCSA, building on tracking studies conducted over the past four years by both organisations. Comparable research was also conducted in the U.S.
Detailed findings from the 2016 TRUSTe/NCSA GB Consumer Privacy Index:
Overall, the research found that consumer online privacy concerns remain extremely high with 92 percent of British Internet users worrying to some extent about their privacy online – the same percentage as last year. 36 percent said they were frequently or always concerned and 39 percent agreed they were more concerned than one year ago.
73 percent were concerned about not knowing how personal information collected about them online is used compared with 62 percent concerned with losing their principle source of income and 51 percent being a victim of crime in their community. When those aware of activities related to online privacy were asked what made them most concerned about their online privacy, almost half (45 percent) said companies sharing their personal information with other companies.
When those aware of activities related to online privacy were asked what made them most concerned about their online privacy, almost half (45 percent) said companies sharing their personal information with other companies.
74 percent of British Internet users believe that they protect their privacy online very or fairly well and yet their awareness and actions tell a different story.
Of those aware of any activities that can be done to protect privacy online, a notably lower proportion in each case had actually done any of these activities in the last year.
- 58 percent were aware that they could delete cookies, cache or browsing history to help protect their privacy online; yet just 49 percent did
- 44 percent were aware that they could turn off smartphone location tracking; yet only 28 percent did
- 49 percent were aware they could change the settings on their social media accounts; yet only 31 percent did
- 31 percent were aware they could read privacy policies; yet just 12 percent did
Despite this ‘privacy awareness deficit’ the business impact of consumer concerns remains high. 76 percent of British Internet users who worry about their privacy online have limited their online activity in the last year due to privacy concerns. Specifically in the last 12 months:
- 53 percent have not clicked on an online ad
- 46 percent withheld personal info when asked for it
- 31 percent have not downloaded an app/product
- 23 percent stopped an online transaction
Among all online adults, 31 percent have stopped using a website and 24 percent have stopped using an app in the last twelve months because they did not trust them to handle personal information securely. 52 percent of adults who have stopped using either an app or website said that this was because they did not feel comfortable. Interestingly 13 percent said they continued to use a website they didn’t trust to handle their personal information responsibly with 35 percent of those who reported doing this saying it was because it was the only website that sold a particular product or service.
Trust remains a significant issue with just 54 percent of British Internet users trusting most businesses with their personal information online. Healthcare providers (72 percent) and financial organizations (66 percent) were most trusted to handle personal information responsibly. Social Networks (32 percent) and advertisers (19 percent) were the least trusted.
There is more that businesses can do to lower consumer concern and improve trust. Among those who ever worry about their privacy online, the two top ways to lower privacy concerns were companies being more transparent about how they are collecting and using data (37 percent) and having more easy to use tools available to protect personal information (33 percent).
Importantly, British Internet users want control when providing personal information online.
- 50 percent said they wanted control over who has access to their personal information
- 47 percent wanted to know how this is used
- 39 percent wanted to know about the type of info collected.
- 29 percent want to be able to delete personal info collected about them
About NCSA’s STOP. THINK. CONNECT. Privacy Awareness Campaign
National Cyber Security Alliance’s (NCSA) privacy awareness campaign is an integral component of STOP. THINK. CONNECT. ‒ the global online safety, security and privacy campaign. Data Privacy Day is the signature event for the campaign and is officially organized by NCSA in North America. Data Privacy Day began in the United States and Canada in January 2008 as an extension of the Data Protection Day celebration in Europe. Cisco, ESET and TRUSTe are Leading Sponsors of the 2016 privacy awareness campaign. Intel is a Contributing Sponsor. Lockheed Martin and Passcode are Participating Sponsors. Supporting Sponsors include CPDP2016, ExpressVPN, ForgeRock, Mozilla, Privacy Ref, Privacy Salon, PRIVATIZE ME and PRIVATE WiFi. The hashtag for NCSA’s privacy campaign efforts is #PrivacyAware.
About TRUSTe
TRUSTe powers privacy compliance and trust by enabling businesses to use data across their customer, employee and vendor channels. We have nearly 20 years experience and a team of over 150 professionals dedicated to providing data privacy management solutions and services, including assessments, certifications and our SaaS-based Platform. The Data Privacy Management Platform provides control over all phases of privacy; from conducting assessments and implementing compliance controls to managing ongoing monitoring. Companies worldwide rely on TRUSTe to minimize compliance risk and protect their brand. http://www.truste.com
About The National Cyber Security Alliance
The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) is the nation’s leading nonprofit, public-private partnership promoting cybersecurity and privacy education and awareness. NCSA works with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and NCSA’s Board of Directors, which include representatives from ADP; AT&T; Bank of America; BlackBerry; Cisco; Comcast Corporation; ESET; Facebook; Google; Intel; Logical Operations; Microsoft; PayPal; PKWARE; RSA, the Security Division of EMC; Raytheon; Symantec; Verizon; and Visa. NCSA’ s core efforts include National Cyber Security Awareness Month (October), Data Privacy Day (January 28), and STOP. THINK. CONNECT., the global online safety awareness and education campaign led by NCSA and the Anti Phishing Working Group, with federal government leadership from DHS. For more information on NCSA, please visit http://staysafeonline.org/about-us/overview/
Research Methodology
The TRUSTe/National Cyber Security Alliance GB Consumer Privacy Index research was conducted by Ipsos using an online survey among a representative quota sample of 1,000 adults aged 18-75 in Great Britain from 17-22 December, 2015. Among these, 872 were aware of activities related to data privacy, 874 were aware of activities that could be done to protect online privacy, while 955 said they ever worry about their privacy online. 364 said they have stopped using a website or app in the last 12 months because they did not trust it to handle their personal information securely, while 131 report they have used a website even if they did not trust the company or service to handle their personal information responsibly. Survey data were weighted by age, gender, region, social grade and working status to known offline population proportions.
Comparison data for Great Britain for the previous four years is drawn from research conducted online on behalf of TRUSTe by Ipsos MORI from 28 November and 5 December 2014 with 1000 adults aged 16-75, from 13 – 18 December with 2,011 adults aged 16-75; from 4 – 8 January 2013 with 2,006 adults aged 16-75 and by Harris Interactive from 28 February – 7 March, 2012 with 2,012 adults aged 16 and older. These surveys can be accessed here and form part of TRUSTe’s ongoing consumer privacy research program.
