T R U STe W HITE PA P E R
TRUSTe 2013 U.S. Consumer Privacy
Confidence Privacy Report:
What Consumers Think, Business
Impact, and Recommended Actions
CONSUMER
CONCERN
$
?
$
CONSUMER
MISTRUST
BUSINESS
IMPACT
4.3
4
5
6
3
4
8
1
9
0
10
TRUSTe Inc.
US:1-888-878-7830
www.truste.com
EU: +44 (0) 203 626 0109
www.truste.eu
4
6
3
7
2
5
8.9
8
1
9
0
10
6
3
7
2
5
7
8
2
1
9
0
10
8.9
201 3 U. S. Cons umer Con fide n ce P rivacy Re por t:
What Con s u m e rs Think, Busine ss I m p a ct, a nd Re co mme n d e d Ac t i o n s 2
This TRUSTe Research Report will help you to:
• Understand consumer concerns, consumer trust, and business impact
related to online privacy of adults in the U.S.
• Provide insight on how customers are responding to privacy issues related
to websites, mobile apps, e-commerce, social networks and email
• Provide legal, marketing and product development professionals with tips
on managing data privacy to ensure compliance and build trust
201 3 U. S. Cons umer Con fide n ce P rivacy Re por t:
What Con s u m e rs Think, Busine ss I m p a ct, a nd Re co mme n d e d Ac t i o n s 3
In a data-driven economy the relationships that businesses develop with consumers become highly valuable as
the exchange of relevant customer information powers commerce through online services. Businesses need to
maintain strong relationships with customers to be able leverage this highly valuable information. Heightening
awareness, and understanding the importance of consumer concerns, consumer trust and business impact
related to online privacy is critical to business and the long-term vitality of online services.
In this research report, we look at survey results from the 2013 U.S. Consumer Privacy Confidence Privacy
Research and provide an analysis for three key insights: (i) Consumer Concerns, (ii) Consumer Trust and (iii)
Business Impact. A series of visual and easy-to-understand meters – designed to show ongoing trends –
accompany each insight.
Executive Summary
The TRUSTe 2013 U.S. Consumer Privacy Confidence Report provides a comprehensive analysis of current
consumer thoughts about online privacy and its impact on business practices across the U.S. The extensive
study surveyed 2,166 online U.S. adults and was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of TRUSTe in January
2013.
This research is part of the ongoing TRUSTe Consumer Research Program that highlights the trust gap that
exists between consumers and businesses and reinforces the urgent need for businesses to develop and
maintain a comprehensive and robust data privacy management program. Recent research also touches
upon pressing privacy-related consumer concerns, including behavioral advertising, mobile privacy and social
networks. For more research, please go to www.truste.com/resources.
This research reveals:
• Mobile privacy concerns increased sharply over the last year – 72% of smartphone users are more concerned
about privacy on their smartphones than they were a year ago.
• Consumer mistrust and the potential impact on business is growing – 43% do not trust companies with their
personal information, 89% avoid doing business with companies where they have privacy concerns, and 81%
of smartphone users avoid using applications they do not believe protect their privacy.
• Online shopping and using social networks top the list of U.S. online privacy concerns – 89% worry about
their privacy when shopping online and 87% worry about their privacy when using social networks.
• 94% of U.S. consumers want control over who can collect their personal information and who can track them
online.
201 3 U. S. Cons umer Con fide n ce P rivacy Re por t:
What Con s u m e rs Think, Busine ss I m p a ct, a nd Re co mme n d e d Ac t i o n s 4
Detailed findings
SECTION 1: Consumer Concern
Respondents were asked “How often, if at all, do you worry about your privacy online in general when using
the internet?”
CONSUMER
CONCERN
4
5
6
3
“How often do you worry
about your privacy online?”
22%
11%
7
89%
WORRY
8
2
1
9
0
8.9
23%
44%
10
Never
Sometimes
Frequently
Always
U.S. consumer online privacy concerns continue to remain high but reduced slightly compared to 2012 findings.
89% of consumers worried about their privacy online when using the internet versus 90% in 2012. 22% of online
adults ‘always’ worry about online privacy (down 1% from 2012); 23% worry about it ‘frequently’ (up 2% from
2012); and 44% worry about it ‘sometimes’ (down 2% from 2012)
Taking a further look at online activities that concern consumers the most reveals interesting information.
Online Activity
% With Privacy Concerns
When shopping online
89%
When using social networks
87%
When banking online
86%
When using e-mail
82%
When using mobile apps
77%
Depth of privacy concern:
Of the 89% who worry about their privacy when shopping online, 30% ‘always’ worry about online privacy; 25%
worry about it ‘frequently;’ and 34% worry about it ‘sometimes.’
Of the 87% who worry about their privacy when using social networks, 28% ‘always’ worry; 26% worry about it
‘frequently;’ and 33% worry about it ‘sometimes.
This research was conducted in early January, just after one of the busiest ever periods for e-commerce over
the holiday season. Some of this retail concern may be due to the fact that consumers visit a wide range of sites
for online holiday shopping - frequently for single transactions.
201 3 U. S. Cons umer Con fide n ce P rivacy Re por t:
What Con s u m e rs Think, Busine ss I m p a ct, a nd Re co mme n d e d Ac t i o n s 5
The survey also found that 35% were always concerned when banking online and 30% were always concerned
when shopping online. The depth of privacy concern rises when the stakes are higher, so even though overall
concerns about online banking may be lower than for online shopping or using social networks, the people who
are concerned about online banking are very concerned.
Gender – Women were slightly more likely to worry about their online privacy with 46% of women worrying
frequently or always, compared with 44% of men.
Region – 27% of adults in the Northeast were always worried compared with 18% in the Midwest.
Age – Privacy concerns are equally high across all age groups although younger respondents (18-34) were
slightly more concerned about their privacy.
Age
Frequently or
Always Worry
16-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-75
47%
42%
44%
44%
90%
Education – Education appeared to make little difference; 46% of those with some college level education were
frequently or always worried about their privacy as were 47% of those with high school level of education or less.
The level of concern remains high despite the fact that many companies are proactively addressing how they
manage data privacy – the problem is consumer awareness of how their data is being collected and used is also
increasing, raising the bar for what companies need to do to stay ahead of the game.
Section 2: Consumer Mistrust
Respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with the statement “I trust most companies with my
personal information online”.
?
CONSUMER
MISTRUST
“I trust most companies with my personal
information online.”
9%
4.3
4
5
15%
6
3
7
47%
8
2
1
43%
DISAGREE
28%
9
0
10
Strongly Disagree
Somewhat Disagree
Somewhat Agree
Strongly Agree
Consumer mistrust increased to 43%, up by 2% compared to 41% in 2012.
Of the 43% of online adults who do not trust most companies with their personal information online, 15% of
respondents strongly disagreed (up 3% from 2012), 28% tended to disagree (down 1 % from 2012), 47% tended
to agree (down 3% from 2012) and 9% strongly agreed (no change from 2012).
201 3 U. S. Cons umer Con fide n ce P rivacy Re por t:
What Con s u m e rs Think, Busine ss I m p a ct, a nd Re co mme n d e d Ac t i o n s 6
Men mis-trust companies with their personal information more than women; 47% of men and 39% of women
report they do not trust companies with their personal information online.
One of the more interesting views is based on geographic region – the chart below shows the level of mistrust is
highest in the West and lowest in the Midwest.
Level of mistrust with personal
information by region*
*Strongly/Somewhat Disagreed
42%
44%
Northeast
South
36%
Midwest
52%
West
Who is responsible for protecting privacy online?
94% of consumers believe that companies have a responsibility to protect their privacy online, compared with
the same figure of 94% in 2012.
However research conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of TRUSTe in July 2012 showed consumers thought that
they themselves were best placed to protect their privacy and personal information online. So although consumers
believe that companies have a responsibility to protect them, they are not prepared to trust them to do this.
Additionally, 94% of online adults reported that they want the ability to control who can collect their personal
information and who can track their activities online.
SECTION 3: Business Impact
Respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with the statement “I avoid doing business with
companies who I do not believe protect my privacy online”.
$
BUSINESS
IMPACT
4
5
“I avoid doing business with companies who
I do not believe protect my privacy online.”
4%
7%
6
3
7
55%
8
2
1
9
0
34%
89%
AGREEE
8.9
10
Strongly Disagree
Somewhat Disagree
Somewhat Agree
Strongly Agree
201 3 U. S. Cons umer Con fide n ce P rivacy Re por t:
What Con s u m e rs Think, Busine ss I m p a ct, a nd Re co mme n d e d Ac t i o n s 7
Consumer mistrust and the potential impact on business is growing – 89% of online adults avoid doing business
with companies who they believe do not protect their privacy - this is an increase of 1% compared to 88% in 2012.
55% of consumers strongly agreed (up 2% from 2012), 34% tended to agree (down 1% from 2012); 7% tended to
disagree (down 1% from 2012) and 4% strongly disagreed (no change from 2012).
Who worries the most?
Gender – There is a slight difference between men and women when it comes to the potential business impact.
87% of men and 91% of women would avoid doing business with companies that they did not believe protected
their privacy online.
Education – The tendency for adults to avoid companies with bad privacy practices is higher among online
adults with higher levels of education. 84% of adults with a high school education compared to 92% with some
college education and 92% with a college degree or higher level of education reported that they would avoid
doing business with companies who they do not believe protect their privacy online.
SECTION 4: Spotlight on Mobile Privacy Concerns
Following the significant shift towards accessing the internet through mobile and tablet devices additional
questions on mobile privacy were included in the 2013 survey.
Amongst smartphone users, 77% had privacy concerns
Activities where consumers have
privacy concerns*
worried, 22% frequently worried, 34% worried sometimes
and 23% worried never.
89%
SHOPPING ONLINE
87%
USING SOCIAL NETWORKS
86%
when using mobile apps. Of these 21% were always
Who worries the most?
Gender – 79% of women had privacy concerns when using
mobile apps compared with 75% of men.
Age – A higher proportion of those aged 45-54 worried
BANKING ONLINE
about privacy on mobile apps than in the other age
groups.
82%
77%
USING E-MAIL
USING MOBILE APPS
*Always, frequently, sometimes worry
Age
Privacy
Concerns
16-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-75
77%
80%
83%
67%
80%
201 3 U. S. Cons umer Con fide n ce P rivacy Re por t:
What Con s u m e rs Think, Busine ss I m p a ct, a nd Re co mme n d e d Ac t i o n s 8
Respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with
72% of smartphone users are more
concerned about their privacy on
smartphones than one year ago
the statement “I am more concerned about my privacy on
my smartphone than I was one year ago.”
72% of smartphone users are more concerned about
privacy on their smartphone than one year ago.
Of the 72%, – the higher the level of education, the higher
the concerns; 69% of adults with a high school education
compared to 72% with some college education, and 74%
with a college degree or higher level of education.
72%
“I am more concerned about privacy on my smartphone
than I was a year ago.”
High School
or Less
Strongly/
somewhat agree
69%
Some
College
College
Grad
72%
74%
Respondents were asked if they avoided using smartphone
81% of smartphone users avoid
using smartphone apps that they don’t
believe protect their privacy online
apps they did not trust.
81% of smartphone users avoid using applications they do
not believe protect their privacy.
Of the 81%, a trend exists among smartphone users who
avoid using applications – the higher the level of education,
the higher percentage of online adults avoid using
mobile apps; 76% of adults with a high school education
compared to 81% with some college education and 85%
with a college degree or higher level of education.
“I avoid using smartphone apps that I do not believe
protect my privacy.”
High School
or Less
Strongly/
somewhat agree
76%
Some
College
College
Grad
81%
85%
Why Businesses Should Address Consumer Privacy Concerns
Consumers are highly concerned about their privacy, whether it is shopping online, using social networks, or
using mobile apps - they want to know how their data is being collected, used and stored. It is evident from the
aforementioned research that privacy concerns impact consumer trust and consumers avoid doing business
with companies who do not have a good data privacy management program in place.
201 3 U. S. Cons umer Con fide n ce P rivacy Re por t:
What Con s u m e rs Think, Busine ss I m p a ct, a nd Re co mme n d e d Ac t i o n s 9
Companies need to take critical steps to ensure valuable customer relationships are protected and address and
alleviate their privacy concerns. By implementing good privacy data management practices, businesses can
build a trusted exchange with customers. Information is currency in a world where data is used to power new
products like mobile apps and cloud services as well as enable innovative marketing programs like behavioral
advertising. Therefore, businesses need to secure long-term customer relationships to ensure that they can
continuously build and develop different sources of information exchange with these same customers.
For businesses to stay relevant, they need to adapt to the ongoing changes within the privacy industry. They
need to build a comprehensive data privacy management strategy and implement solutions that addresses
address both compliance requirements and customer concerns.
Good data privacy management starts with incorporating a privacy-centric approach to managing data beyond
merely posting a privacy policy on your company website. Privacy needs to be designed into your approach
with customers to ensure that your business properly manages data privacy and addresses consumer concerns.
If your business is global, then you need to address both your non-US online properties, as well as how
international regulations could impact your US online properties.
Good data privacy management helps ensure that your business is compliant and builds trust with your
customers so they feel confident sharing their personal information with you.
Three Steps to Building a Comprehensive Data Privacy
Management Strategy
As with any important business initiative, the key to success is developing a framework to assess the issues and
designing a plan of attack. The chart below outlines a proven three-step process for putting a comprehensive
data privacy management strategy in place.
3. Control
1. CERTIFY
• Preference & opt-out
management
• Data collection, usage, &
sharing practices
• Tracker database
• Industry & legal compliance
requirements
• Compliance reporting
• Tracker detection
• Ongoing monitoring &
analysis
• Disclosure review & testing
2. Monitor
• Disclosure & tracking
changes
• Privacy seals
• Real time authentication
• Certification letters
201 3 U. S. Cons umer Con fide n ce P rivacy Re por t:
What Con s u m e rs Think, Busine ss I m p a ct, a nd Re co mme n d e d Ac t i o n s 10
Step 1
Perform a thorough audit and assessment of your current privacy practices and certify them vs. applicable
regulations and best practices.
This includes asking questions like:
• What data do you collect? How long do you keep it? Who do you share it with?
• What channels do you use to collect data? (web, mobile web, mobile apps, etc.)
• Do you market to children?
• Are you marketing outside the U.S.?
• Are there industry or legal data privacy compliance requirements that impact your business?
• Who owns privacy decisions at your organization?
• When did you last update your privacy policy?
• Has your policy been reviewed by in-house or outside legal resources?
In order to ensure you are compliant with all relevant legal requirements and best practices, as well as able to
demonstrate your strong privacy commitment to customers, partners, and key industry constituents, you should
consider pursuing a third party privacy certification. Privacy certification help reassure consumers, businesses,
and government agencies that you can be trusted. Also, working with independent experts enables you to
focus more resources on your business.
Step 2
Monitor your privacy program continuously to ensure it remains current with both evolving regulations as well
as changes in your data management programs. You can do this by establishing a cross-functional / crosscompany committee as well as implementing tools like the TRUSTe Tracker Audit Service to ensure you can
monitor both the presence and type of trackers on your site as well as the reputation of the companies who
you enable to access your site and customer data. These tools can also provide important insights into the
performance impact of the trackers on your site as well as help manage and prevent accidental data leakage.
Step 3
Put controls in place to manage key privacy processes on an ongoing basis. This includes managing customer
preferences for opt-outs tied to both web and mobile app behavioral advertising (DAA and eDAA online
behavioral advertising program) as well as for
managing cookie consent preferences tied to the EU
Cookie Directive.
A comprehensive data privacy management
u
Tr
st
•
E ng
agement • Co
mp
lia
nc
e
program enables you to address privacy using
multiple channels (web, cloud, mobile, behavioral
CLOUD
MOBILE
ads, etc.) across all geographies, on an ongoing
basis – to build trust, drive engagement, and ensure
compliance.
WEB
DATA
ADS
Data Privacy Management Strategy
CERTIFY
MONITOR
CONTROL
Data Privacy Management Platform
201 3 U. S. Cons umer Con fide n ce P rivacy Re por t:
What Con s u m e rs Think, Busine ss I m p a ct, a nd Re co mme n d e d Ac t i o n s 11
About TRUSTe
TRUSTe is the leading data privacy management solutions provider and offers a suite of software and services
enabling companies to safely collect and use customer data to power their digital businesses around the world –
enabling them to unlock the full value of their data while building trust, driving engagement, and ensuring
compliance.
TRUSTe solutions, which include privacy by design consulting, privacy certifications, website monitoring tools,
and preference management controls ensure companies can safely use data across all their digital business
channels, including websites, mobile apps, cloud services, social networks, email, and advertising.
All TRUSTe solutions are engineered to enable businesses to continuously develop new and innovative products
and marketing programs while building trust and driving engagement by adhering to best practices for
providing customers with transparency, choice and accountability regarding the collection and use of personal
information.
The TRUSTe Certified Privacy Seal is recognised and trusted by millions of consumers as a sign of responsible
privacy practices.
More than 5,000 companies like Apple, AT&T, Disney, eBay, HP and Microsoft rely on TRUSTe to ensure
compliance with evolving and complex privacy requirements.
For more information, call us at 888-878-7830 or visit one of the following resources.
• Additional research and white papers www.truste.com/resources
• Upcoming educational webinars www.truste.com/events
• Key privacy industry news and alerts www.truste.com/blog
• Privacy Certifications, Monitoring Services, and Control Platforms www.truste.com/products-and-services
If you have questions about this research, please email Dave Deasy at ddeasy@truste.com.
CONTACT US
US: 1-888-878-7830 www.truste.com | EU: +44 (0) 203 626 0109 www.truste.eu