ADT recently surveyed more than 1,200 U.S. consumers, revealing 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 admit they don’t feel knowledgeable on the topic.
The company says the smart home security industry has the opportunity to provide leadership and guidance in this area to maintain consumer trust and promote responsible data privacy practices within the industry. “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,” Jim DeVries, President and CEO of ADT, said in a statement.
The rapid expansion of the smart home device category has ushered in scores of new manufacturers and brands that may have put convenience before user privacy; however, the ADT 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%), followed by government spying on in-home smart cameras (53%) and smart speakers (52%).
The survey also uncovered that when it comes to how personal information is shared, consumers tend to be more concerned about how governments (89%) and companies (93%) share their personal information than they are about how they share their own personal information on social media (86%). Additionally, despite acknowledging the importance of privacy protocols, most consumers do not use privacy measures available to them; in fact, fewer than 40% of survey respondents reported having any data privacy measures in place at all.
“These consumer privacy opinion survey findings validate the work we’ve been doing as an industry over the past year to create a set of guiding principles, designed to help protect customer privacy and trust in the security industry and member companies, and to unify ourselves around them,” Frank Cona, Chief Privacy Officer at ADT, said in the statement.
Last year on "Data Privacy Day," ADT announced the Consumer Privacy Initiative, an industry-level initiative to unite the smart home security industry and produce clear guiding principles and best practices for how security providers manage consumer data and protect their privacy. Participants – including ADT, Alarm.com, the Electronic Security Association (ESA), the Security Industry Association (SIA), integrator Vector Security and others – joined together during the past year to develop a baseline of industry-wide guiding principles for consumer privacy, with input from consumer advocates.
The guiding principles are being developed with the understanding that providers of smart home security products and services must continually earn the trust of their customers by prioritizing their privacy as well as their safety. The principles will evolve with the changing smart home and security landscape – addressing top-of-mind issues such as facial recognition and analytics. Current areas of focus include:
● Privacy by Design – Consumer privacy should be embedded in all areas of the security industry, and that begins with the design of the products used to help protect and connect customers.
● Transparency – Providers of security products and services must spell out in clear and understandable terms how they collect, use, share, and retain sensitive data.
● Handling of Audio and Video – Security providers will only share audio or video with first responders with their customers’ prior consent, or as required by law, and will not otherwise access a customer’s audio or video without the customer’s knowledge.
● Data Correction and Deletion – Security providers will create an easily accessible process for customers to request that personal information collected by that provider be deleted. Customers can also request that data errors be corrected.
● Guidance and Use – Providers of security products and services will equip customers with information that empowers them to use their security products and services in a manner that better enhances everyone’s privacy. This could involve adjusting data collection settings, setup of cameras, or establishing video and audio data retention timeframes that work best for them.
● Accountability – Providers of security products and services will commit to additional accountability measures, such as independent privacy assessments.
