Consumers call out 'creepy' company data use

A recent KPMG survey indicates that many consumers are uncomfortable with the way in which organisations use their personal data.

The report, entitled ‘Creepy or cool? Staying on the right side of the consumer line’, studied almost 7000 consumers, including 500 from Australia. Almost one-quarter of these Australian consumers said they were extremely concerned about how companies handle and use personal information.

Less than 10% of consumers overall think that they have any control over the way organisations handle and use personal data.

Notions that were considered particularly ‘creepy’ by Australian consumers include selling of personal data to third parties, apps that access personal data, personalised billboards based on their previous purchase behaviour, personalised adverts based on their personal emails and companies contacting them based on their location and previous use.

“The most effective thing organisations can do to assure customers that they can be trusted with people’s data is to tell them what they intend to do with the information and to assure them it won’t be shared with third parties,” said Gary Gill, KPMG Australia forensic partner.

“They also need do demonstrate strong cybersecurity systems. Failure to imbed privacy into the DNA of their business strategy could ultimately lead to the extinction of a business given how closely consumers and regulators alike are paying attention to how organisations collect, store and use personal data.”

Law enforcement bodies, health providers and banks are the organisations most trusted with personal data in Australia. Indeed, the scenario people in Australia are most accepting of is having a tracking device on their vehicle for use by the emergency services.

However, social media and gaming companies are not considered trustworthy with personal data, with 60% of people in Australia expecting to have less online privacy in 10 years’ time.

Younger people are more open to the use of personal data where free or cheaper technology is included in the deal, while millennials are far less likely than other age group to be concerned about hackers.

Overall, the top three concerns to emerge from the survey were unwanted marketing, personal information being sold on to third parties and lack of secure systems. The survey found that strong cybersecurity systems are the most effective thing an organisation can do for customers to trust them with their personal data.

Consumers are increasingly taking matters into their own hands, with half of survey respondents saying they already delete their internet browser cookies or manage their social media settings. Almost one-third even use incognito or ‘do not track’ modes, while a quarter of one per cent use encryption.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Jürgen Fälchle