New survey reveal consumers worries on data privacy
Philadelphia— Every week there is another data breach or revelation about how companies are sharing some of your most personal data. That reality has lead to 33% percent of consumers listing safeguarding their data as their top privacy concern.
From http://www.thoughtcatalog.com/
That’s according to a new survey of 1,500 consumers by Viber, a messaging and calling app. Only 16 percent were not concerned about privacy at all. The results break down a little bit differently based on if the respondents gender. There is nearly a 20 percent spread between men’s and women’s concern about safeguarding data. And these concerns are highest among Baby Boomers— only 22% of Gen Z expressed similar concerns.
The recently passed California Consumer Privacy Act (AB 375), authored by Assemblymember Ed Chau, could provide some relief. The most visible change for consumers will be a “Do Not Sell” button on websites that allows consumers to opt out of the sale of their data. Consumers will also now have the right to know what information is being collected and the right to delete data.
While those changes technically only apply to Californians, its possible some companies will decide to enact the protections nationally because it’s easier for them.
Until national protections are put in place, consumers can do the following:
Improve passwords: Remembering all those passwords is annoying, but strong passwords is one of the best defenses against hackers. Use a password manager that allows you to make extremely strong passwords for all your accounts, but only need to remember one.
Check your apps: Many apps take and store private information on a regular basis, even when it’s unnecessary. This can include location, search data, usage and more. Consider what apps you download, make sure you can wipe data, or try to opt out of sharing altogether.
Update your device: Those updates can include critical privacy protections, new ability to delete saved data and other safeguards.
Lastly, many consumers are also concerned about identity theft. Stolen data can be used in phishing scams to get more sensitive financial information including people’s social security number. The best protection there is to freeze your credit.
