Commentary

Brand Etiquette For Digital Identities

Consumers want to know that brands value customer preferences and behavioral data by treating the information with respect. Data-sharing etiquette will become more important this year, according to research released Tuesday.

About 62% of customers expect companies to ask permission before using their digital information, so they can control what gets used, according to the research from UnboundID conducted by Compass Intelligence. And 43% of customers say they would  respect companies more that would give them control of how their information gets shared.

When asked which Identity Etiquette actions would make them more agreeable, 33% said "asking which items can be shared" (the most-popular response), followed by "offering a meaningful benefit for data use" at 29%, and "the ability to update or revoke access to data at any time" at 26%.

Some 61% of customers say they would accept sharing and/or selling access to parts of their digital identity if they got some sort of reward in return.  A discount was the most popular benefit at 47%, followed by value-added services (such as more content or viewing options), chosen by 22%.

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While consumers think they know the economic value of their digital identity and personal information, apparently brands have their own estimates. According to the Financial Times, basic age, gender and location information "sells for as little as $0.0005 per person, or $0.50 per thousand people," and information about "influential" people within their social networks "sell for $0.00075, or $0.75 per thousand people." The post tells us that income details and shopping histories, which are slightly more valuable, sell for $0.001. The publisher set up a calculator to determine what you're worth.

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