New research has revealed that most UK citizens (81 per cent) were aware of efforts to track COVID-19 through smartphone data collection, but 84 per cent were worried that their contact tracing data will be used by organisations for purposes unrelated to COVID-19.
Identity provider Okta surveyed 12,000 online consumers globally, including 2,218 in the UK, finding that advertising was cited as the top purpose, with over three-quarters (79 per cent) worried about their data being used by organisations to serve personalised ads.

However, tailored content does not deter everyone, with 30 per cent finding it acceptable for data to be tracked in order to improve the user experience, while 26 per cent were happy to be shown suggested content they may be interested in.

Most UK respondents were uncomfortable with the idea of companies collecting their data, particularly offline conversations overheard by devices (82 per cent), passwords (79 per cent) and biometric data (77 per cent). A further 82 per cent were also worried their data would be held insecurely, in addition to concerns about sacrificing too much privacy (76 per cent) and impacting finances, such as insurance premiums (62 per cent).

“Businesses need to be more transparent about what data they’re collecting, how it’s stored and where it’s being used if they want to improve trust,” commented Jesper Frederiksen, vice president and general manager for EMEA at Okta. “Businesses require data to innovate and improve, but by not disclosing relevant information, they risk losing customers altogether.”

In some cases, consumers were unaware of which of their data is being collected. A third of respondents did not think their employer collects any data on them, in addition to news outlets (36 per cent), streaming services (20 per cent) and consumer hardware providers (19 per cent).

“Regulations like GDPR attempt to give people some control over their data, but it can be challenging to understand what our digital identities consist of, how they are used and what kind of data is collected," noted Frederiksen, adding that as only one fifth of consumers admit to reading terms and conditions, companies should perhaps explore additional methods to make their data tracking known.

Despite concerns, the UK is generally willing to give up data in order to aid containment of COVID-19, and more so than other countries across the globe - 60 per cent of UK respondents said they would be comfortable in providing location data to help the cause, with this figure much lower in countries such as the Netherlands (45 per cent), Germany (47 per cent), the US (48 per cent) and Australia (49 per cent).

Brits are comfortable with their data being collected for purposes including determining where the virus is spreading (66 per cent), tracking who diagnosed individuals have come into contact with (61 per cent) and determining if a vaccine is effective (58 per cent).

Over half (60 per cent) of UK respondents also believe smartphone-based data tracking will be effective in containing the virus.

When looking at specific age groups, Millennials and Generation Z were much more concerned about how their data is used in comparison to their older counterparts.
Almost three quarters (74 per cent) of those aged 18 to 34 were worried about law enforcement having access to their data, a figure which shank to 47 per cent of over 55s.

The vast majority (94 per cent) of UK respondents were uncomfortable with the thought of their data being sold, yet 36 per cent would be willing to share data with companies if they were financially compensated - a figure which rises to 52 per cent of 18 to 34s.

Consumers were most willing to sell purchase history (63 per cent), location data (62 per cent), browsing history (59 per cent) and details of their online media consumption (59 per cent). However, there were some areas they draw the line, with fewer willing to sell passwords (31 per cent), offline conversations (33 per cent) and biometric data (33 per cent).

“It’s clear there is a cost when it comes to privacy, the question is how much,” said Frederiksen. “Okta’s research shows that consumers would generally be willing to accept between £10 and £50 for their location data (31 per cent) or browsing history (30 per cent) - and surprisingly, 10 per cent would be willing to give away their password data for under £30."

He added: "If companies can strike a balance between privacy and innovation, consumers can have control over their data, including where it goes and whether they're compensated, while companies can still build products that benefit the world.”

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