In the News
Who do you trust with your data? In Your mass consumer data collection is destroying consumer trust, Jascha Kaykas Wolf at TechCrunch discusses how only 3% of people have trust in the marketing and advertising industry, given the constant ad-targeting and personalization from daily media use. Kaykas Wolf furthers that this sentiment is particularly strong in the millennial generation and that privacy is a critical factor for customers when choosing where they make purchases.
Our Take
3% is an incredibly low percentage of consumers. A decrease in consumer confidence and trust in companies and industries has been noticeable for many years. However, for confidence to reach such a low level proves that companies and consumers are on entirely different pages when it comes to what is acceptable and ethical in regards to data use and data collection. However, even those this percentage is very low, and consumer actions have not shifted to the same degree as their sentiments. With consumers still creating accounts, clicking on ads, and shopping online, businesses and ad-agencies will continue their practices unless their actions begin to hurt their bottom line severely. If consumers want things to change, their efforts need to start to match their sentiments.
Recommendations
How can you better protect your personal information in the digital age?
- Understand the risks of putting your personal information into the world, and only share what you have to
- Carefully read the privacy and data policy before accepting and creating any new account
- Utilize security settings on smart devices and turn them off when they are not in use
- Use safe password practices, and take advantage of Multi-factor Authentication where possible