Consumers worry about privacy but don't want to change their habits
A survey released to coincide with Data Privacy Day reveals that although 80 percent of consumers are concerned about their data privacy, few are willing to change their habits.
The study from Entrust, based on responses from 500 adults in the US and 500 in the UK, shows 64 percent of consumers are willing to some degree to share personal information with an app in exchange for more relevant, personalized and/or convenient services.
A large majority (83 percent) of consumers are at least somewhat comfortable with using or storing biometric data with apps and services. Further, the majority of consumers (61 percent) also indicate that they're at least somewhat willing to share personal information with an app in exchange for more transparency and control over their data.
Despite this (79 percent are at least somewhat concerned about their data privacy, and 64 percent say their concern or awareness about data privacy has increased over the past 12 months. The top reason for heightened concerns (60 percent) is news stories about attacks and security breaches, followed by an increased number of targeted ads based on their online behavior (48 percent).
However, 43 percent say they don't carefully review the terms and conditions before downloading a new app. Of the consumers who don't read terms and conditions, the majority (69 percent) list the amount of time it takes to read them as their reason for not doing so, while 28 percent don't read terms and conditions because they don’t understand what they explain.
"As digital life accelerates, organizations and end-users alike demand seamless, secure experience -- without putting their data, identities and privacy at risk," says Cindy Provin, senior vice president and general manager of data protection at Entrust. "It is imperative that business leaders ensure that they protect consumer data with strong encryption and high-assurance, cloud-based authentication while educating their customers on data protection best practices. Entrust offers a comprehensive portfolio of data protection solutions -- and the deep crypto security expertise organizations need to minimize threats and enable a foundation of trust for digital life."
You can find out more on the Entrust site.
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