Americans can be full of surprises! The rest of the world would assume that we, being Americans, love freedom and should be strong protectors of privacy. However, a recent survey by an API management company Axway raises some eyebrows. It shows that residents of the “land of the free, home of the brave” are happy to swap personal information for convenience.
The global consumer survey showed that Americans are very much willing to share personal data with organizations in exchange for improved user experience (UX). The survey shows that US residents appear to be very vocal about how companies handle personal information. Still, more than half of the surveyed answered that they are OK with organizations getting access to personal data as long as it delivers better UX. Nearly 60% of Americans said that they are OK with personal data sharing.
According to the survey, another country whose residents appear to be very liberal in data handling is Brazil. About 75% of the surveyed Brazilians said that it is worth giving companies access to their personal data if it means a better UX. Privacy appears to be more important than convenience for Europeans. Britons appear to be split on 50%, and Germany seems to be slightly opposed with 48%.
The same survey also concludes that only 15% of global respondents say they’re not concerned that their online data may be mishandled. The other 85% suggested that companies need to improve data handling and openly distrust how businesses handle personal data. The lack of confidence does not come as a surprise as, over the years, there has been a whole list of very high-profile data leaks. Even though many businesses have stepped in their cyber security game, most people continue to express concerns that their online data may not be secure enough.
If you are concerned about your privacy and you wish to share less with tech companies and marketers, you may want to consider using a high-quality VPN solution. Such solutions can help you add another layer of privacy on all your connected devices and mask most of what you do online. However, picking the right VPN option could be a tricky process. Still, you are generally OK to purchase when you are sure that your VPN provider is not recording your personal information and does not keep connection and activity logs.
Panda Security specializes in the development of endpoint security products and is part of the WatchGuard portfolio of IT security solutions. Initially focused on the development of antivirus software, the company has since expanded its line of business to advanced cyber-security services with technology for preventing cyber-crime.
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