The State of Privacy

Table of Contents:

INTRODUCTION | THE UNIVERSAL CONCERN OF PRIVACY

RANKING PRIVACY CONCERNS GLOBALLY

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR PRIVACY 

HOW INDIVIDUALS  ARE TACKLING ONLINE PRIVACY

CONCLUSION | ONLINE PRIVACY PROTECTION IS IN HIGH DEMAND

Internet users’ privacy concerns and what they’re doing about it.

In March 2018, FigLeaf commissioned a deep-dive survey into the internet habits, concerns and pain points of global consumers across five countries: Australia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The ultimate goal of the survey was to understand how users’ privacy beliefs aligned with their actions (or lack thereof). As we gathered more than 7,500 consumer responses, the gravity of privacy became clear:

More than 80% of all participants agreed that their personal online privacy is an important issue.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRIVACY IN FIGURES - TOP 2 BOX*

Source: GFK survey among 7,528 online users (18+ years) in 5 countries (AUS, FR, DE, UK, US) – International average is weighted based on the size of each country proportional to the countries | *On a scale from 1=strongly agree to 5=strongly disagree

For an array of users, online privacy is not only becoming more important, but also becoming more difficult to achieve. In this report, we’ll delve into the reasons why consumers are expressing an increase in concerns around privacy, what they’ve chosen to do about it and what areas they are overlooking, and why it’s important for every consumer to pay attention now.

Consumers are troubled by a variety of concerns as they browse, shop and share online.

The three most common pain points among respondents across all five countries were related to finances: hacking of their bank accounts, fraud transactions, and misuse of their credit and debit cards.

We assume that this is due to the reason, that finances are directly tied to our most basic needs: food, shelter and health. Users may feel that the hacking of social media and general personal information online, while invasive, is less problematic to their everyday lives.

 WHAT ARE YOUR TOP PRIVACY CONCERNS?

Feeling of Protection – Top 2 Box*

Source: GfK survey among 7,528 online users (18+ years) in 5 countries (AUS, FR, DE, UK, US) – International average is weighted based on the size of each country proportional to the other countries | Importance: -100 to +100 | *On a scale from 1=feel protected to 5=feel unprotected

Interestingly, respondents ranked these same three financial pain points high on the list of areas where they feel most protected. How is it that consumers say they are most concerned about finance-related issues, yet also say these areas are where they feel the safest? Data suggests that consumers trust banks more than social media, online merchants or public WiFi. One possible explanation is that while the breach of financial information or actual theft is of high concern, consumers also see that banks and other financial institutions act quickly to provide restitution. This immediate response and highly personalized experience might help consumers feel as though they have an advocate in the fight to keep their financial information and assets safe.

On the flip side, recent headlines on breaches have driven home the opposite for social media platforms, online merchants, and public WiFi: every news article seems to scream ‘not secure.’ Using financial institutions as an example, the opportunity for retail, social media and other companies to provide a greater sense of privacy for consumers is significant.

Who is responsible for our privacy?

Online privacy is clearly top of mind, but the question remains: who is responsible for the protection of that privacy?

The vast majority of all respondents believe that privacy should be a joint effort, with the bulk of the responsibility falling to governments and companies. The majority of respondents, 67%, would like to see more government oversight and more comprehensive laws enacted to protect users.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR PRIVACY? – TOP 2 BOX*

Source: GfK survey among 1,504 online users (18+ years) in the US | *On a scale from 1=feel protected to 5=feel unprotected

Consumers have long been left to bear the brunt of unkept or insinuated promises in regard to privacy. Governments have a long history of protecting consumers against corporate self-interest, and enacting similar efforts in the digital world make sense, particularly as more examples come to light of companies abusing the access they have to personal data.

Respondents fear the misuse of their data, with many of them taking personal privacy protection into their own hands. In fact, more than 90% of consumers say they take measures to defend themselves online. This notion suggests insecurity towards government or company regulations, the demand for and usage of protection programs is widespread.

How individuals are tackling online privacy?

Most users are not adequately protecting their privacy.

Although the vast majority of users are making some attempt to protect themselves online and demonstrating a clear desire for greater control of their personal data, few are doing enough to protect themselves or take back their privacy.

HOW ACTIVE ARE YOU IN PROTECTING YOUR PRIVACY? – TOP 2 BOX*

Source: GfK survey among 1,504 online users (18+ years) in the US | *On a scale from 1=feel protected to 5=feel unprotected

Among the original 83% of US users who consider online privacy a pain point, 60% are doing only the bare minimum to protect themselves or less - the majority of respondents only use free solutions and are indifferent to their effectiveness.

These findings suggest that consumers have not found a solution they can trust or one that puts them in control over their own privacy, as such, they have been unwilling to spend money for solutions they do not see as effective. It’s safe to assume that consumers are aware of antivirus and anti-malware software and that it can protect them from malicious intent. Given that privacy as a separate cause for concern is relatively new to many, it would not surprise if existing solutions for this pain point are either unknown or viewed as non-optional for many consumers.

Without full control over the sharing and use of personal information, the respondents who have taken steps to protect their privacy have tried everything from using antivirus programs ( total: 68%, US: 67%), deleting browser history ( total: 56%, US: 58%), using an ad blocker ( total: 35%, US: 35%) or password manager ( total: 28%, US: 31%), or purchasing a virtual private network (VPN) ( total: 12%, US: 13%).

While many of these solutions offer value, they may be confusing, expensive or not work well together. What’s more, consumers seemingly confused whether they keep data secure or private.

WHICH STEPS HAVE YOU TAKEN TO PROTECT YOUR ONLINE PRIVACY? – TOP 2 BOX*

Source: GfK survey among 7,528 online users (18+ years) in 5 countries (AUS, FR, DE, UK, US) – International average is weighted based on the size of each country proportional to the other countries | *On a scale from 1=feel protected to 5=feel unprotected | Multiple answers possible

After decades of touting virus protection and security, it’s clear consumers have received the message that they need to keep their data safe. What is surprising, however, is how few people attempt something as simple (and free!) as adjusting their privacy settings. Only 25% use a privacy browser and 35% use cookie blockers. Why? Users may be reluctant to take a simple — and recommended — measure because the value is not clear, nor is it clear how far reaching these efforts are. If you block your cookies on one site, does it affect another? Can you pick and choose and create the privacy profile you want, or is it one size fits all?

We assume that this level of ambiguity leads to inertia. Consumers want a simple solution that allows them total control.

Perhaps most enlightening, despite taking these measures to protect their online data or somehow manage their privacy, a large majority of internet users still feel their privacy isn’t truly protected and never will be.

RESPONDENTS WHO BELIEVE PRIVACY ISN’T POSSIBLE – TOP 2 BOX*

Source: GfK survey among 7,528 online users (18+ years) in 5 countries (AUS, FR, DE, UK, US) – International average is weighted based on the size of each country proportional to the other countries | *On a scale from 1=completely agree to 5=completely disagree

While many consumers express a desire for the government or the websites they use to be more proactive about protecting their privacy, most are willing and eager to take matters into their own hands. We assume that many consumers make efforts to protect their information by slowly changing their online behaviors and sharing less, yet a feeling of hopelessness exists through the assumption that privacy isn’t really possible.

In turn, consumers are likely to limit their online use by choice instead of feelingfree to benefit from what the internet has to offer.

Thus, we feel there is a universal need for a privacy solution that provides a full suite of protective measures to cover those deficiencies and makes controlling privacy smarter, more transparent and more effective.

This study was conducted by GFK for FigLeaf.

These results are an excerpt of the study “Privacy research: Product feature study 2018” and are based on 7,528 interviews of online users (aged 18 or over) in Australia, France, Germany, UK and USA.

The study was commissioned by FigLeaf and conducted by GfK to indicate how users’ privacy beliefs align with their actions.

The fieldwork was conducted in March 2018. Data are weighted to reflect the demographic composition of the online population aged 18+ in each market. The global average given in this release is weighted, based on the size of each country proportional to the other countries.

About FigLeaf

FigLeaf Inc. is a privacy-first company that offers consumers the choice of total digital privacy across all devices,anywhere and anytime. Our comprehensive, easy-to-use privacy solution, FigLeafApp, allows consumers to control their own data, image, reputation and identity online. FigLeafApp empowers individuals with the choice for total digital privacy, helping them understand what and where data has been exposed, and providing tools to securely shareinformation in the manner they choose. Available on Mac, Windows, iOS and Android, FigLeaf’s “Privacy by Design”approach gathers only the information a consumer chooses to share. Our proprietary “zero-knowledge” solution architecture ensures only the individual consumer holds the key to their identity and no outside party can access their personal information - not even FigLeaf.

Founded in 2018, FigLeaf is a privately held company with offices in Silicon Valley, London, Kiev, Dubai and Nicosia, Cyprus. Follow FigLeaf on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, or visit us at https://figleaf.com to learn more. FigLeaf: when privacy is a choice, humanity is free.

Find "The State of Privacy" PDF version here.

Author: FigLeaf Team