Customer privacy can be a business opportunity

Organisations are increasingly hungry for their customers’ personal data. Collecting and processing this data is a lucrative business, with many resources - such as user location, shopping habits and interests - still free or cheap to access. However, the need to keep this data private raises a host of limitations and legal considerations.

Today, there is a large disparity between how technologies actually work and the way users expect them to, in terms of privacy. The gap may be so wide that users may revolt and boycott the service, Google Buzz being one infamous example.

The great scandals that have shaken the internet industry - like the LinkedIn password leakage and suspicions of NSA spying on internet users’ data - have led to an evolution of user perception about the handling of their private data. Where once there was a high degree of trust from users - sometimes even nonchalance - there is now widespread concern about data being pervasively collected.

Privacy is an ever-evolving concept, and it is challenging to clearly identify user expectations as these can vary over time and depend on various factors. One thing we know for certain is that users want their services to somehow protect their privacy.

This opens doors to the formation of a new corporate perspective where privacy is seen not as a hindrance, but as a catalyst for natural business growth.

Privacy can be a product by itself. What recently happened with Snapchat is perfectly illustrative of this principle at work. Snapchat provides ephemeral communication, a privacy feature that attracted more than 25% of smartphone users in the UK and half of mobile users in Norway. Impressive statistics, driven by a simple privacy feature.

Consider online social networks as another example. They are set to live long - and beyond targeted advertising opportunities and other personal data-driven services, it may be well worth considering them from a different angle. A user-centric approach could be to offer ways of making informed decisions of whether or not to reveal private attributes online to the over two billion potential customers.

One could provide services to quantify the level of privacy and risks users may be taking. Researchers from NICTA have set theoretical frameworks to assess risks in online social networks, and with scepticism on Facebook’s business model captured by statistics showing that it is losing lustre with teens, this could be the next Snapchat-like privacy feature.

The possibilities are endless. Imagine technologies adapting to varied needs for privacy, thus meeting different user expectations. Privacy as a key business differentiator is one promising path for businesses trying to walk the fine line between data aggregation/analysis and genuine customer service. It could potentially even increase user willingness to share more data, if it increases the trust users have in the service.

As a customer, if I have to choose between two competing content providers, I would obviously take into account network performance, user experience and service costs. Now, if one of those two companies also offers technical guarantees for privacy-preserving data processing, I know which one I would choose!