U.S. consumers value data security on their smartphones highly, and more so than any other device, according to a survey of 800 consumers by Creative Strategies.
Smartphone users were particularly concerned about data security when it came to cloud services and email use, according to the survey.
People who used their phones primarily for social networking were less concerned about security, but it was still on their mind.
Generally speaking, the more sophisticated the user, the more they valued data security and privacy.
Creative Strategies summarizes some key takeaways:
We asked our panelists to tell us on what device they value privacy the most.
You will not be surprised that 60% mentioned their smartphone. Considering how much we do with these devices – take pictures, shopping, navigation, email, messaging and, of course, calling, and how much we store on them – pictures, videos, emails, credit cards, contacts – we want to make sure our data is private. However, not all consumers rely on smartphones in the same way. The more tech savvy they are, the higher their reliance on smartphones and therefore their need for privacy. So, privacy being important on a smartphone was mentioned by 73% of early tech adopters vs. 53% of mainstream consumers. Technology laggards are still relying more on their PCs than on their smartphones. The PC as the device where privacy matters the most was 49% for late tech adopters.
Cloud adoption has yet to spread much beyond early tech adopters which explains why this is the segment that mentioned cloud as the most important service when it comes to privacy – 33% – and to security – 52%. Early mainstream users are the only segment that puts privacy as being most important when it comes to messaging than cloud – 32% vs. 27%.
Almost half of respondents said they were changing their passwords frequently, as well as using different passwords for different sites.
There are implications for social networks here, because these networks are increasingly becoming interconnected with users’ lives – particularly when it comes to personal data (bank transfers, phone calls, etc).
If consumers don’t feel safe handing these things over to social networks, there business could take a hit.
Photo by Susanne Nilsson via Flickr CC License