Latest research from Roy Morgan reveals over 90% of Australians lack proper understanding about how leading apps collect and use their personal data.
Roy Morgan CEO, Michele Levine, affirms only a “tiny minority” of Australians “fully understand” how Apple, Facebook, Snapchat and Google share their data:
“However, despite the concerns raised about the potential misuse of personal data whether financial, medical, location data, purchase/transaction data, browsing histories, political preferences, sexual orientation, phone contacts, personal photos or other personally identifiable information, only a tiny minority of Australians (between 5-10%) believe they ‘fully understand’ how companies such as Apple, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Google ‘use and/or share their personal data”.
Following the Cambridge Analytica scandal early this year – comprising personal information of millions of users – Facebook has engaged in a global campaign against ‘fake news’, ‘data misuse’ and ‘spam’.
“In Australia all other companies and brands are chasing successful German discount supermarket retailer ALDI, which is currently Australia’s most trusted brand on a Net Trust Score basis,” adds Levine.
94.6% of Australians using Apple apps are either ‘not sure’ or only ‘somewhat understand’ how Apple uses or shares their personal data – higher than any other specific brand mentioned in the survey.
Following closely behind are leading social networks including Twitter (94.3% of Twitter users), Instagram (94.0% of Instagram users), Snapchat (93.7% of Snapchat users), Messenger (92.8% of Messenger users), Google (91.9% of Google users) and Facebook (90.9% of Facebook users).
In a broader sense, 94.4% smart home device users and 94.1% of online sales apps users are either ‘not sure’ or ‘somewhat understand’ how their personal data is shared.
