Study Suggests Broad-Based Consumer Concerns about Privacy

An October study published by McGraw Hill Financial Global Institute cautions that consumers believe they are losing control of their online privacy.  The report from authors at J.D. Power suggests that a majority of consumers feel they have lost control over how their personal information is collected and used, suggesting a lack of consumer trust will be a critical issue for companies to manage.

The study also provides further evidence debunking the old canard that young people do not care about their privacy.  On the contrary, if young people’s concerns about privacy are lessened, this may be due to evidence to that younger consumers are taking direct actions to reduce their privacy risk.  According to the report, younger generational groups more frequently take advantage of social media settings and set their social networking to private than older consumers.  Additionally, nearly 30% of younger consumers “openly admit to providing false information on websites and apps.”

Worries about privacy and personal data management exist worldwide.  While over 80% of consumers in the U.S. say they have lost control over how personal information is collected and used, the study found that similarly high numbers of people in emerging economies like China and India are concerned about their privacy.

The entire report, entitled “Consumer Concerns about Data Privacy Rising: What Can Businesses Do?,” is available to read.