Half of mobile users are concerned about sharing their
personal information while using the mobile Internet or mobile applications.
Around 81 percent of mobile users surveyed felt that safeguarding their
personal information was very important and 76 percent said they were very
selective about whom they gave their information to, according to GSMA.
Key areas of user concern, which focused on trust and
confidence, were highlighted as behavioural advertising, location-based
services (LBS), mobile applications and third-party sharing. Other study
findings include:
89 percent of users think that it is important to know
when personal information is being shared by an application and to be able to
turn this off or on.
89 percent think it important to have the option of
giving permission for personal information to be used by third parties and 78
percent are concerned with third parties having access to the location of their
mobile without permission.
74 percent want to be told if their personal information
is collected to target them with offers or promotions; and 92 percent of
respondents have concerns when applications collect personal information
without their consent and 79 percent would like to know when and what type of
personal information is being collected.
Practical services such as maps and weather are the most
frequently used location-based services and are highly valued by over 70
percent of respondents. 79 percent think it is important to have the choice
whether to receive location-based advertising with 86 percent believing it
important to be able to turn LBS promotions or advertising on or off.
Over 60 percent of respondents were familiar with
behavioural advertising, with 35 percent finding it valuable, but 84 percent
thought it important to be able to have the choice whether to receive
behavioural advertising that is based on browsing history and 81 percent remained concerned about receiving
behavioural advertising without their consent.
The GSMA study covered more than 4,000 mobile phone users
in Singapore, Spain and the UK, which sheds light on privacy issues,
particularly relating to the use of the mobile Internet and mobile
applications.
“The research shows that to realise the full
potential of mobile Internet services, it is imperative that ways are found to
strengthen consumer confidence and trust by giving users meaningful
transparency, choice and control over how their personal information is
used,” said Tom Phillips, chief regulatory officer, GSMA.
“The GSMA is committed to working with stakeholders
from across the whole mobile ecosystem to help establish effective and
consistent privacy experiences for mobile users, and to ensure that privacy is
a key consideration of all mobile services,” Phillips added.
By Telecomlead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com
