Pandemic tech use heightens consumer privacy fears

The dramatic expansion of the average person’s digital footprint due to Covid-19 restrictions is causing increased anxiety over personal privacy, and a feeling for many people that they are losing control over how much data online platforms hold on them, according to a report compiled by Trūata, a supplier of “privacy-enhanced” data analytics services.

Trūata’s Global consumer state of mind report 2021 polled 8,000 consumers in Brazil, France, South Korea, the UK and the US to understand the challenges people were facing around their data privacy, and found many expressed a “heightened sense of fear” over their privacy and personal data.

Many of the concerns were linked to the rapid onset of digitisation during the Covid-19 pandemic. Just over two-thirds of consumers (64%) said they had used more technology during the pandemic, but having assessed the data exchange that allowed them to keep their daily lives ticking over during periods of national lockdown, 61% now wanted to reduce the amount of personal data that tech companies hold on them.

Nearly half of respondents (48%) said they had lost control over their data footprint. Some 56% were concerned about losing track of their digital presence entirely and said they wanted to, or were taking steps to, take back control of the situation. Over three-quarters of respondents (77%) said they had actively taken steps to reduce their digital footprint.

“There’s no denying the accelerated pace at which the Covid-19 pandemic has revolutionised the way we live, the way businesses operate and the way global society functions. A ‘go digital or go dark’ dichotomy leaves little choice but to harness the internet and technology to stay connected in all aspects of life,” said Trūata CEO Felix Marx.

“However, with personal data exchanges acting as the price for entry into this new, not-going-anywhere, digitally driven economy, the initial acceptance of a temporary takeover by our digital selves was short-lived,” he said.

“With so much of life happening online, questions around safety and security have come to the fore, triggering a tipping point for trust and digital privacy, which is highlighted by the findings in this year’s Global consumer state of mind report. Having felt a loss of control, consumers are now seeking to reclaim ownership and demand the protection of their digital selves.”

“A ‘go digital or go dark’ dichotomy leaves little choice but to harness the internet and technology to stay connected in all aspects of life”