The seemingly endless data breaches of 2018 have taken its toll on consumers, with almost a third (32.3%) stating that they would not let any company use any of their personal data.
That’s according to a survey by customer profile and identity management software provider Janrain, which quizzed 1,000 UK adults between October and December this year.
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The results paint a picture of wariness among consumers, but also suggests they are still prepared to part with their data in certain situations.
Businesses demanding personal information, such as a phone number or email address, in order provide goods or services are putting off more than half (52.9%) of consumers to some degree.
And just 6.3% said that they had no concerns about protecting their personal data.
Surprisingly, the British Airways hack, which saw hackers steal payment data of 380,000 customers put up for sale on the dark web, has apparently done little to knock confidence in the airline industry.
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By GlobalDataWhen asked which type of business is the least trustworthy when it comes to protecting personal data, just 9.8% responded with travel companies, such as airlines.
Data breach consumer trust impacts internet giants most
Unsurprisingly, internet tech giants such as Google and Facebook are among the least trusted when it comes to looking after personal data. 44.5% of consumers ranked internet companies as top – almost double the number of second place.
In October, Google announced it would shut down its social network platform Google+ after a bug gave third-party developers to access data of 500,000 users who had not granted permission.
Meanwhile, Facebook has been plagued by privacy concerns all year, including a data breach that exposed 50 million users’ data and the recent seizing of internal emails by the UK government that suggest the company put cash flow above user privacy.
The research shows that there is hope for some brands that focus on gaining the trust of their customers. Over half (52.6%) of consumers are prepared to hand over some of their data to trusted companies – but only if the data sharing will benefit them in clear ways.
“Our survey is incredibly good news for brands that take the personal data privacy and security of their customers seriously,” said Janrain CEO Jim Kaskade.
“Despite high-profile missteps and outright failures in the way brands have approached data privacy and security, consumers are very open to a consent-driven relationship with brands, which will go a long way toward solidifying trust for stronger, longer-term relationships.”
Elswehere, the findings showed that financial details and passwords warrant the most concern among consumers and that around half of consumers consider themselves “somewhat careful” about their computer and mobile security.
The full findings of Janrain’s Consumer Attitudes Toward Data Privacy and Security Survey can be found here.
To see a visual representation of the biggest data breaches and cyberattacks this year, check out our interactive map.
