23 Stats on Why You Need to Prioritize Customers’ Privacy

The everyday consumer doesn’t fully understand how their data is collected and used by companies, and with a bit of work, you can use this as an opportunity to grow your business.

I’ve put together 23 statistics that illustrate that data privacy is still a new and concerning topic for the general public. There is still a lot of confusion about data collection, usage, deletion, privacy policies, and other buzzwords in the data privacy sphere.

By ensuring that customers understand and are comfortable with your data collection and usage as a business, you can get ahead of the curve and hold onto your customers’ precious trust and loyalty, all while growing your business!

1. 62% of U.S. adults believe that it is not possible to go through daily life without companies collecting data about them. (Pew Research Center)
   
   
2.  81% of the public say that the potential risks they face because of data collection by companies outweigh the benefits. (Pew Research Center)
   
   
3. 79% of Americans report being concerned about the way their data is being used by companies. (Pew Research Center)
   
   
4.  More than three in five customers feel they’ve lost control over how their personal information is used, up from 46% in 2019. (Salesforce)
   
   
5.  Among adults who say they ever read privacy policies before agreeing to their terms and conditions, only a minority – 22% – say they read them all the way through before agreeing to their terms and conditions (Pew Research Center)
   
   
6. 72% of adults say they personally benefit very little or none from company data collection about them (Pew Research Center)
   
   
7. Roughly 79% say they are not too or not at all confident that companies will admit mistakes and take responsibility when they misuse or compromise data. (Pew Research Center)
   
   
8. 85% of consumers will not do business with a company if they have concerns about it’s security practices (PwC)
   
   
9. 92% of consumers say they should be able to control the information available about them on the internet (PwC)
   
   
10. 91% of consumers say companies should notify consumers about all data breaches (PwC)
    
    
11. 88% of consumers say the amount of data they share with a company depends on how much they trust it (PwC)
    
    
12. 63% of global consumers say most companies aren’t transparent about how their data is used (Tableau) 
    
    
13. 85% of consumers say cybersecurity and privacy risks are among the biggest risks facing society (PwC)
    
    
14. 71% of consumers find companies’ privacy rules difficult to understand (PwC)
    
    
15. 92% of customers are more likely to trust companies that give them control over what information is collected about them (Salesforce)
    
    
16. 82% of customers now agree a company’s trustworthiness matters more than it did a year ago, compared with 73% in 2019 (Salesforce)
    
    
17. 87% of consumers want the ability to remove their personal data from the internet if it hurts their reputation (PwC)
    
    
18. 82% of U.S. consumers believe their personal data is vulnerable to a security breach (Salesforce)
    
    
19. Only 2% of Americans believe their data is completely safe from being compromised (Statista)
    
    
20. 54% believe that most companies don't use data in a way which benefits them (Tableau)
    
    
21. 48% of global consumers have stopped buying from a company or using a service due to privacy concerns (Tableau)
    
    
22. More than 40% of organizations are seeing benefits at least twice that of their privacy spend (Cisco)
    
    
23. For every dollar spent on privacy, the average organization is getting $2.70 in associated benefits (Cisco)