Trust Issues? Consumers Would Rather Share Personal Data With Private Firms Than Government, Says KPMG Report

After the Supreme Court barred private banks, telecom companies and payment service providers from using Aadhaar data of their customers, citing risks to their privacy and security, a survey conducted by KPMG has revealed that consumers in the country trust private companies more than the government when it comes to sharing their personal data, Financial Express has reported.

According to the survey technology enterprises and the banking sector are the most trusted (75 per cent each), followed by wealth management firms (62 per cent) and power and utility firms (62 per cent).

The government(51 per cent), was the least trusted entity for consumers. However, compared to global average of consumer's trust in government (37 per cent), India has fared well. Globally, 31 per cent of consumers don’t trust anyone with their mobile data, while in India it is just 10 per cent.

Similarly, also noted that about 47 per cent of consumers is very anxious about unauthorised tracking of their online habits by firms, governments or criminals. Close to 51 per cent of consumers is anxious about identity theft globally, while in India it was 52 per cent. Interestingly the survey also mentions that 55 per cent of the respondents would rather lose their wallet than their phone.

A survey of around 25,000 consumers in eight countries, including approximately 3,000 in India, asked respondents their overall level of trust in 12 categories of industries, specifically whether they trusted employees, felt firms cared about them and believed them with their data.