A February 2011 survey by Harris Interactive and TRUSTe reveals significant concerns about privacy and data security for US smartphone owners. 38% of US smartphone owners list privacy as their primary concern, while 26% list security as their primary concern.
TRUSTe‘s key findings:
- 98% of consumers want better controls over how their personal information is collected and used via mobile devices and apps
- Nearly three-quarters of consumers are uncomfortable with the idea of advertiser tracking
- 85% of consumers want to be able to opt into or out of targeted mobile ads
- 77% of consumers don’t want to share their location data with app owners/developers
- 40% of consumers report that they purposefully do not share location data with mobile applications
- Consumers are trying to protect themselves by creating strong passwords and reading privacy disclosures before they log into a site or use an app
The smartphone is the “the fastest-growing device for Internet access” in the U.S. and along with that growth comes a level of concern for data privacy that previously centered more around desktop computers. eMarketer reports that only 36% of respondents “felt in control of their personal information when they used their mobile devices.”
TRUSTe worked with Harris Interactive to survey 1,000 members of its online consumer panel about their smart phone usage, behaviors, protective measures and privacy concerns.
