Commentary

Users Crave Digital Privacy, But Aren't Willing To Pay For It

Putting Facebook and other social networks in a bind, consumers are more worried than ever about their privacy -- but few say they’re willing to pay to secure their personal information.

That’s according to findings from Norton LifeLock’s latest Cyber Safety Insights Report.

Among more than 1,000 U.S. adults, 72% said they are more alarmed than ever about their digital privacy.

An even greater share (93%) believe it’s important to make companies and organizations provide them with a degree of control over their personal information, along with the right to request that their personal data be erased -- or face a monetary fine.

That said, most of those surveyed said they are not willing to pay organizations to ensure the protection of their personal information.

That’s especially true when it came to social media providers like Facebook. Indeed, 72% of consumers said they’re not willing to pay social networks to ensure their personal information be protected.

That’s more than the 58% of consumers who said that they weren’t willing to pay retailers in exchange for securing their privacy; 57% who said the same about healthcare institutions; and 56% who said the same about financial institutions.

More broadly, 66% of those surveyed said that do accept certain risks in favor of convenience -- especially when the information at risk of exposure is an embarrassing picture as opposed to sensitive healthcare or financial information.

That might explain why social platforms like Facebook remain popular despite the fact 94% of consumers surveyed said they had little to no trust in social-media providers when it comes to protecting their personal information.

Yet, social networks are not invincible from such widespread consumer concerns.

In fact, 28% of those consumers surveyed with a social media account said they have deleted an account in the past 12 months over privacy concerns.

Even more concerning for top platforms, 33% of consumers 18-to-38 said they have recently deleted an account over privacy consumers, while 31% of those 39-to-53 said security concerns have driven them off of one or more social platforms.  

Another 44% of consumers said they have reined in the degree to which they share personal information on social platforms, bad news for activity- and engagement-obsessed sites like Facebook.
2 comments about "Users Crave Digital Privacy, But Aren't Willing To Pay For It".
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  1. Gail Gardner from GrowMap, March 27, 2019 at 2:21 p.m.

    I have to agree with the users. The platforms are making money off of their personal information and activities, so it is the platforms that should pay to implement better security. It is a cost of doing business. 


    If they decide not to they will eventually pay in lost revenue from users leaving their networks. It is obvious people are concerned by the fact that so few are willing to disclose even the state they're in when participating in Facebook groups and similar. 


  2. Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, March 27, 2019 at 3:54 p.m.

    Most interestingly is how many companies are gearing up for targeting and mis placed personalizaion when they won't be able to get the information (halleluya). Invest wisely, my friend.

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