REPORT
Smart home consumer privacy survey reveals unease In a report released in the US last month by ADT, 1,230 US consumers responded emphatically to a consumer privacy survey that reveals significant concerns over smart home privacy. With many data privacy and security issues in the news, says ADT, it’s no surprise that 92 percent of respondents feel smart home security companies need to take measures to protect customers’ personal data and information. However, while concerns around privacy are high, more than 40 percent of those surveyed admitted they don’t feel knowledgeable on the topic.
In early 2019, ADT rolled out the Consumer Privacy Initiative, “… an industry-level initiative to unite the smart home security industry and produce clear guiding principles… for how security
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providers manage consumer data and protect their privacy.” Major focus areas outlined in the initiative’s manifesto include accountability, data correction and deletion, guidance and use, and transparency. Several leading smart-security brands have united with ADT to expand on the practices laid out in the initiative. The doors are open for other companies to come aboard, and this is certainly a case of “the more the merrier” because, let’s face it, those terms-and-conditions pages could do with some enriching. “ADT released the first Internetconnected smart home security platform in 2010, and we’ve consistently taken great care to protect and connect our customers in the most secure ways possible, using leading industry standards
and best practices to guard their data, privacy and personal information,” said Jim DeVries, President and CEO of ADT. “Where there is consumer confusion about privacy, we as an industry must work to reduce that confusion so consumers can be confident that the products and services we provide to help keep them safe can be trusted. With that trust in place, there can be greater peace of mind.” Key Consumer Privacy Opinion Survey Findings The explosion of the smart home device category ushered in scores of new manufacturers and brands that may have put convenience before user privacy. However, the consumer privacy opinion survey revealed consumers are now aware of and concerned about privacy as it relates to smart home devices with the top concerns reported to be hacking (75 percent) followed by government spying on in-home smart cameras (53 percent) and smart speakers (52 percent). The survey also uncovered that when it comes to how personal information is shared, consumers tend to be more concerned about how governments (89 percent) and companies (93 percent) share their personal information than they are about how they share their own personal information on social media (86 percent). And, despite acknowledging the importance of privacy protocols, most consumers don’t use privacy measures available to them. Fewer than 40 percent of survey respondents reported having
February / March 2020
