How far will you go to protect your personal data?
No longer shop with a brand? Pay more for goods and services from a company with a better privacy record? Stop using an app?
All of these and more are actions people are prepared to take if they find out organizations aren't keeping their data safe, according to a new report from DataGrail.
The report reveals important implications for businesses and elected officials, as consumers demand greater protections and believe that privacy is a fundamental human right. When people feel like their data is in good hands, they are more willing to shop, share, and interact.
It shows 57 percent report being fed up with or 'creeped out' by existing data privacy practices. 75 percent are willing to abandon brands that don’t take care of their data and three out of four people would shop at a brand they trusted rather than saving a few dollars at an online shop they didn’t know or trust. 67 percent are willing to pay $100 a year or more to keep their data out of the hands of businesses or government.
In light of the recent Roe v. Wade ruling, 44 percent of all Americans have become more fearful about what information they share on apps and online. For example 66 percent of Millennial and Gen Z women have made changes to, deleted, or plan to delete period tracker apps on their devices.
"What we're seeing is that people are going through a Great Privacy Awakening, which is in response to numerous events that have risen to the public consciousness, each striking closer to home and leaving consumers feeling vulnerable," says Daniel Barber, CEO and founder of DataGrail. "People know privacy is a human right, and they are not willing to accept the status quo anymore. Data privacy and sharing in the digital age are not, and should not be, mutually exclusive. Given the choice, people will opt to share personal data with brands they trust, creating a flywheel of personalization (and revenue), all powered by privacy."
There is an increasing view that privacy is a fundamental right with 83 percent of Americans believing there should be a federal law granting them privacy protections. In the absence of such legislation Americans are more worried about their privacy than Europeans protected by GDPR rules.
Despite the view that people don't care about their privacy too much, the study shows 60 percent of people are concerned about their online privacy, 53 percent feel they have little control over their online identity, and 34 percent feel overwhelmed about managing their privacy.
The full report is available from the DataGrail site.
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