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Executive Summary
Consumers have long worried about data privacy, and now, the rise of the smartphone as the
fastest-growing device for Internet access is fueling user demands for more control over how app
developers, mobile websites and mobile advertisers collect, track, use and share user data.
To learn more about how consumers navigate this emerging mobile landscape, TRUSTe worked
with Harris Interactive to survey 1,000 members of its online consumer panel about their
smartphone usage, behaviors, protective measures and concerns.
The survey, conducted in February, 2011, revealed a strikingly high level of worry around personal
information and data privacy, with security fears ranking second on the list of concerns.
Consumers revealed that they are far less likely to use a site, engage with an app or click on a
mobile ad if they don’t trust it to protect their data; they also showed a willingness to protect
their information by reviewing privacy notifications and implementing strong password protections.
In addition, cautious consumers engaged in risk-avoidance behaviors such as never accessing
sensitive information from their phones. This kind of “better safe than sorry” approach thwarts
the full potential and usage of mobile sites and apps.
How to overcome these concerns? Many smartphone users said that the presence of a TRUSTe
trustmark on a provider site or app offered a greater level of assurance about consumer-friendly
privacy practices.
The bottom line: Companies connecting with consumers via mobile (whether on apps, websites,
or ads) are likely missing major opportunities to engage with their targeted audience when
consumers avoid sharing, downloading or clicking on any mobile experiences that lack evident
privacy protections.
• Consumers want more control over their data: 98% of consumers expressed a strong desire for
better controls over how their personal information is collected and used via mobile devices and apps.
• Location tracking turns users off: A significant majority (77%) of consumers doesn’t want to
share their location data with app owners/developers.
• Strong passwords and policy disclosures are valued for protection: To protect themselves,
consumers most often create strong passwords and read privacy disclosures before they log
into a site or use an app.
• Consumers feel safer when they see a privacy trustmark: Consumers recognized the TRUSTe
brand and shared a strong consensus about the TRUSTe trustmark’s value in providing a sense of
security for users visiting sites that display it, as well as the legitimacy of formal certification that
its display represents on those sites.
www.truste.com Taken together, these findings show that the mobile industry must work harder to demonstrate
its commitment to privacy protections, or risk not reaping the full benefits of the platform.
Consumer Mobile Privacy Insights Report 3
I. Introduction
The exponential growth of the Internet and its splintering into portable devices such as
smartphones and tablets has opened up a rich array of experiences for users. Mobile’s astonishing
range of apps and sites (at increasingly faster speeds) means people can shop, share, chat, text,
talk and connect from the palm of their hands, anywhere, at anytime. But along with this veritable
feast of functionality comes fears about what consumers must give away in exchange for all the
riches the mobile world has to offer.
How are consumers using their devices? What are their greatest concerns around privacy and
security? And how do these concerns impact their usage of mobile apps, sites and ads? These
are the issues TRUSTe wanted to explore so that we could better serve our customers and their
consumers.
The resulting 2011 mobile privacy survey, conducted in February by Harris Interactive on behalf
of TRUSTe, surveyed 1,000 smartphone-using members of Harris Interactive’s Online Consumer
Panel about their smartphone ownership, behaviors, and concerns.
The respondent’s answers reveal a telling portrait of smartphone usage, consumer attitudes and
perceptions about mobile privacy, their leading concerns about how data is collected and used,
the data protection safeguards they currently implement, and help they’d like to see from the
industry in providing greater control and protection.
About TRUSTe
TRUSTe, the leading privacy trustmark and service provider, offers the only mobile application
and mobile website privacy certification program to help companies build customer trust around
their products.
• Graphical, short-notice privacy policies optimized for mobile devices that provide fast access to
information about privacy and data usage issues, and facilitate an easy return to the original app
or site. The Harris Interactive survey shows that 90% of users prefer the graphical, short-notice
privacy policy which can help increase user trust in your privacy practices.
• A mobile privacy seal and validation page optimized for mobile devices so users can quickly
validate a site or app’s TRUSTe privacy certification.
• Enhanced privacy disclosures to address consumer concerns unique to the mobile platform, such
as the use of geo-location technology or tracking and ads information.
• Privacy dispute resolution services, accessible from the validation page, so that consumers can
provide privacy feedback about an app or site.
www.truste.com
Consumer Mobile Privacy Insights Report 4
BEFORE AFTER
90%
Prefer
TRUSTe’s graphical, short-notice privacy policy makes your privacy practices more transparent
and easier-to-read
Research Methodology
For the mobile privacy survey, Harris Interactive conducted a self-administered online survey of
1,000 members of the Harris Poll Online(SM) consumer panel.
The survey, which was conducted February 3-17, 2011, was designed to determine the following
research objectives:
• How smartphone users feel about their privacy on mobile devices
• Smartphones have been around longer than many folks realize. Here’s a brief timeline of their
evolution from bricks to smartphones…
• 1993: IBM releases the brick-like Simon phone, with touch-screen dial, PDA and FAX.
• 1994 – 2000: PDAs (lead by the Palm Pilot line) and pagers create demand for a myriad of mobile
devices and applications.
• 2000: Microsoft Pocket PC 2000 (later called Windows Mobile) arrives for mobile devices.
• 2002: Research in Motion releases the light-weight BlackBerry 5810 with data storage and wireless
email; Palm’s first Treo phone offers a full keyboard, wireless web, and data syncing.
• 2007 - 2008: Apple captures the consumer market with the first iPhone; a 3G iPhone and the App
Store follow the next year.
• 2008 - 2009: Google’s open-source Android OS launches, and the first Android phones (the HTC
Dream / G-1) hit the market. A year later, the Motorola Droid invades; within two years, Android
overtakes iPhone as the OS of choice among new US purchasers.
• 2010 - 2011: By the end of 2010, smartphone sales outpace PC sales. Nielsen predicts that more
consumers will own smartphones than “feature phones” by the end of 2011.1 On the global front, IDC
predicts 50% growth in smartphone sales by the end of 2011.2
• 98% of consumers expressed a strong desire for better controls over how their personal information
is collected and used via mobile devices and apps.
• When given the opportunity to control their data, nearly nine in ten smartphone users restrict at
least some types of information sharing on mobile apps; resistance is even higher among BlackBerry
users (who tend to be among the earliest adopters) and older consumers.
• 68% believe they are being tracked for advertising (although the actual incidence of behavioral
tracking is much lower).
• A minority of consumers feel they have a choice about the collection and use of their location
information by an application, though iPhone users (at 45%) and Android users (41%) feel they
have a greater choice in this matter than do users of other devices such as Windows Phone (38%)
BlackBerry (20%).
100% 1%
I like advertiser
tracking
22%
75%
I neither like nor
dislike being
tracked
Not important at
25%
all
2%
0%
www.truste.com
Consumer Mobile Privacy Insights Report 7
Location Tracking
• A significant majority (77%) of consumers don’t want to share their location data with app owners/
developers (aka first parties). Only 2% are willing to share their data both with first parties and third
parties.
• Consumers who receive alerts when location tracking is enabled (as iPhone users do) are more likely
to allow access to location information when requested by an app. (iPhone users allow access about
half the time, while Android users allow access about a third of the time).
• Consumers recognize the TRUSTe brand and share a strong consensus about the TRUSTe
trustmark’s value in providing a sense of security for users visiting sites that display it, as well as
the legitimacy of formal certification that its display represents on those sites.
Account information
(username, password) 65%
Personal information
(name, address) 61%
Location 40%
Profile information
(age, gender) 33%
Nearly nine in ten (85%) restrict at least some types of information sharing on mobile apps
www.truste.com
Consumer Mobile Privacy Insights Report 8
We also discovered a simple age corollary between data and voice usage: The younger a user, the
greater the data usage; the older a user, the greater the voice usage. Likewise, younger users tend to
download more mobile apps than older users.
The Harris Interactive consumer survey revealed the following information about smartphone usage
in the US:
Operating Systems
• The most commonly used smartphone operating system brands are Apple’s iPhone (32%),
BlackBerry (26%), and Google Android (25%).
• Apple iPhone and Google Android users are more similar to each other than they are to other
smartphone platforms; younger users trend toward those two brands.
• Google Android phones are capturing an even larger share among new smartphone users at the
expense of BlackBerry (and iPhones to a lesser extent).
Mobile Activities
• On average, users spend the greatest percentage of their smartphone time making phone calls
(36%), texting (19%), and emailing (14%). Surfing (7%), gaming (7%), and social networking (6%) are
also common smartphone activities.
• 90% of smartphone users have downloaded at least one mobile application; iPhone and Android
users download more apps, as do younger smartphone users.
• BlackBerry users tend to be longer tenured smartphone users; their phones are also more likely
to be subsidized by an employer. They spend more time making calls and are less likely to have
downloaded mobile applications.
• Younger users spend less time on calls and more time texting and downloading mobile applications.
• Older consumers tend to use their smartphones for calling and emailing than do younger users.
• 49% of consumers use their smartphones for non-calling activities at least 1 to 3 hours per day.
iPhone and Android users and younger smartphone users spend more time on non-calling activities.
• Users of the most popular OS brands (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone) are more
likely to be males than users of other brands (such as Palm and Nokia).
www.truste.com
Consumer Mobile Privacy Insights Report 9
Smartphone Adoption
• The average user acquired a smartphone 2.7 years ago. The longest-term users (11%) have had
smartphones for 5+ years; the newest users (18%) have had smartphones for less than a year.
Privacy around apps and advertising data tracking were hot-button issues with the consumer panel.
They felt most vulnerable to (and less in control of) unwanted or over-reaching data collection and
use in those categories.
3%
19%
None
Identity
Privacy 38%
Sharing
14%
Security
www.truste.com 26%
www.truste.com
Consumer Mobile Privacy Insights Report 11
• Risk avoidance
• Overall, 40% of users reported that they simply “don’t use apps or go to sites that [ask for or use]
my personal information”
• 38% say they don’t access accounts with sensitive information via their mobile devices.
• How users want protect their privacy
• 90% of consumers prefer mobile privacy policies that are menu-oriented and concise, versus
traditional mobile privacy policies.
• About seven in ten smartphone users said they would be more likely to read a privacy policy that
is easier to navigate and read.
• 58% of users would like a way to view the information a mobile app collects about them
Other
2%
Brands that spend millions of dollars creating state-of-the-art mobile experiences are missing major
opportunities to connect with these consumers by failing to build in these mission-critical trust systems.
One way to bridge this gap is via consumer-recognized seals and certifications. The majority of the
consumers surveyed were aware of the TRUSTe brand, and of its value proposition as an indicator of
vetted and validated privacy programs.
www.truste.com
Consumer Mobile Privacy Insights Report 12
Key findings around consumer awareness and valuation of the TRUSTe brand:
• 70% of mobile users report that the TRUSTe seal increases their overall privacy comfort level with
a brand that displays the seal.
• The same percentage (70%) also report having seen the TRUSTe seal online before.
• Consumers valued the TRUSTe trustmark for its perceived sense of security as well as for the
legitimacy of formal certification they associate with brands that display the trustmark.
• Consumers overwhelmingly (by 90%) preferred TRUSTe’s optimized mobile privacy policy format, to
standard, difficult to read mobile privacy policies (characterized small print, long scrolling text, etc.)
• While 42% of users claim to read and understand mobile privacy disclosures before using an app,
those aware of TRUSTe are significantly more likely to have taken this action.
• Among the 37% of consumers willing to share at least some personal information in exchange for a
free or lower-cost mobile app, those who were aware of TRUSTe were significantly more willing to
share this information than those who were unaware of TRUSTe.
Trust is about being comfortable with what happens after our information leaves our fingertips, and
knowing that, no matter how or where our information enters the world (including on apps, social
networks, ads and mobile sites), it is safe and secure in the hands of those to whom we’ve entrusted it.
To help foster this experience, TRUSTe offers the following mobile certification services:
www.truste.com
Consumer Mobile Privacy Insights Report 13
Privacy concerns around mobile applications are higher than ever and consumer mistrust can limit
app downloads and engagement levels. Here are five tips that can help you get privacy right and
build a mobile audience through trust and respect for personal information:
Having a mobile privacy policy can help ensure that consumer privacy expectations meet the reality
of your data practices. The length and density of a standard online privacy policy, however, will
confuse and frustrate consumers on smaller mobile screens. A mobile privacy policy, just like a
mobile app, should be mobile-optimized: think simple, visual and interactive. Consumers will thank
you: in our survey 90 percent of consumers preferred TRUSTe’s mobile-optimized privacy policy
format to standard online privacy policies.
An app’s use of a consumer’s location data should always be an opt-in process whereby a consumer
grants explicit permission prior to the app’s collection and use of this data. One method for obtaining
consumer consent is creating a pop-up notice/request. Our survey found that app developers
should do more in this regard as only 36 percent of consumers felt that they had a choice regarding
the collection and use of their location data.
You should provide a consistent, unified consumer opt-out experience: if you engage in targeted
advertising on mobile devices and on the traditional web, then consumers should be able to opt-out
of tracking on both devices from a single portal. Our survey found that 85 percent of consumers want
to be able to opt-in or out of targeted mobile ads. Work with industry associations, like the Digital
Advertising Alliance, to ensure that your targeted advertising privacy practices are consistent with
industry standards.
www.truste.com
Consumer Mobile Privacy Insights Report 14
Consumers want choice regarding the use of their personal information. Our survey found that 98
percent of consumers believe it’s important for mobile apps to provide easy access to controls for
collecting and sharing personal information. Pop-up notices prompting users to grant/deny permission
for data collection/use are an effective method for obtaining explicit consumer consent (opt-in).
For data collection activities that are opt-out you can offer consumers choice by displaying opt-out
mechanisms prominently within a mobile app’s privacy and security settings.
Collect only the personal information that you need. It may be tempting to record every available
data point about your app users, but the more you collect the more wary users become and the more
responsibility and risk you assume with their personal data. If you collect information that a consumer
might not necessarily expect, it’s always a good idea to provide them with prominent notice of this
collection.
Only 1 in 3 consumers feel in control of their personal information when using their mobile devices,
revealing a great deal of consumer mistrust in the mobile app space. Moreover, 52 percent of
consumers list “privacy” and “unauthorized information sharing” as their primary concerns when
using mobile apps. Getting your mobile app privacy certified by a reputable third-party like TRUSTe
can help overcome consumer privacy concerns. In this way, privacy certification can be a competitive
differentiator, helping to increase downloads and engagements by increasing consumer confidence
and trust.
Unfortunately, not all mobile app marketplaces or stores enable the display of 3rd party privacy
certifications. If they don’t already, ask your app store or app marketplace to recognize 3rd party
privacy certifications so that consumers can more easily identify trustworthy apps that protect their
personal information.
Go to www.truste.com/mobile to learn more about the program and access additional resources.