Millennials the most privacy-conscious generation, says study

The Privacy in Perspective study, which consisted of an online quantitative study, online qual and in-depth interviews across the UK and US, found that millennials were 28% more likely to switch products or services because of privacy concerns than the rest of the population.

According to the findings, 48% of people aged between 18 and 34 in the UK had stopped using a product or service because they were worried about the way it was using their personal data. This was compared to 33% of the general population and 30% of people aged 55-64.

Other findings were:

• 45% of people aged 18-34 in the UK would be willing to pay a premium in exchange for total confidentiality when buying products and services online
• This compares to 30% of the population, and 22% of people aged 45-54
• 25-34 year olds in the UK would pay a privacy premium of 30%, while those aged 34-64 would only pay 18% more

“Young people are increasingly aware that their information has value, and brands regularly trade in it to their advantage,” said Arunima Kapoor, associate director at Flamingo. “But there is a disconnect between the value people place on their information and brands who trade in it.

“They are demanding a fair exchange and want to negotiate the terms to mutual advantage.”

More details on the study can be found here.

• In related news, yesterday saw the European Court of Justice rule that individuals have the right to request search engines to remove links to information about them: The “right to be forgotten”.