Aussies value privacy over convenience

Australian consumers overwhelmingly believe trust is more important than convenience when it comes to interacting with consumer brands and want adequate security measures to protect their private data, a Deloitte study shows.

Deloitte’s second annual Australian Privacy Index highlights the emergence of a more sophisticated Australian consumer that equates privacy with trust around how their data will be kept secured.

Some 94% of consumers value trust over convenience when using a website or mobile app, the survey shows.

While consumers generally trust organisations to use their information reliably and respectfully, Australian consumers are most concerned about sharing their credit card details (71%), ID numbers (65%) and medical records (34%). In addition, 67% of consumers are concerned when organisations send personal information outside of Australia.

Of the more than 1000 consumers surveyed, 71% never had privacy issues with a brand. The remaining 29% are more likely to be older — the survey shows that more than 38% of 40–64-year-olds have made a privacy complaint but less than 8% of 18–25 year-olds have.

Deloitte national lead partner for cyber risk services Tommy Viljoen said the survey shows that privacy for today’s Australian consumer is inextricably linked with trust.

“Australians, whether millennials or baby boomers, want to be confident that the organisations with which they entrust their personal data are reliable, and that they treat their information with respect,” he said.

“We want to know our information is secure when it is submitted via publicly available means, such as a website or mobile app. And we also want to know how our information will be used.”

The extent to which an organisation is trusted varies by sector, he said.

“Banking and finance organisations overtook government as leaders in privacy this year, as both these heavyweight groups continue to vie for pole position. The energy sector came in third, followed by insurance and telecommunications, which jumped from 10th position last year to fifth,” he said.

Real estate meanwhile is the least trusted industry (13th), followed by traditional media (12th), social media (11th) and retail (10th). In the middle of the pack are higher education (sixth), technology (seventh), travel and transport (eighth) and health and fitness (ninth).

Deloitte noted that industries ranked at the top of the index are more highly regulated than those in the lower half.

Besides the consumer survey, Deloitte conducted website analysis, a confidential organisational survey of the 116 brands represented in the report and analysis of the brands’ mobile apps where available.

Organisations that performed well typically had mobile apps that communicated to the end user when they performed actions on a mobile device. They also had security protocols on their website when capturing personal information, as well as a brand deemed trustworthy by consumers.

Deloitte client manager for cyber risk services Marta Ganko, co-author of the report, said the findings demonstrate how important it is for organisations to have effective data management practices in place.

“Any organisation which shares data has become a data broker of some sort. As organisations collect and share more of their customers’ data with external parties, consumer confidence, trust, choice, as well as commercial interests, become important elements to balance in an increasingly digitally borderless world,” Ganko said.

“This requires organisations to break down their own borders and operate transparently to continue building trust with consumers.”

It will also be crucial for businesses to ensure they are compliant with privacy laws — and not just those from Australia.

“The need to maximise commercial opportunities, implement efficiencies and reduce costs has led organisations to engage or partner with third parties, which are often located overseas and so are subject to different and sometimes more stringent laws,” Ganko said.

“This means that Australian-based organisations have to now consider global approaches to managing privacy risks associated with trust and reputation.”

Image courtesy of Josh Hallett under CC