We trust Google far more than Facebook, says new report
Online privacy company Vest commissioned a research survey to discover our levels of trust across Internet platforms such as Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and Google. The research was carried out in the UK in February 2016.
Vest's tools enable people to use the internet without being tracked, hacked or bombarded by advertising.
Its technology protects your identity and security when you use the internet by filtering malicious content and blocking intrusive user tracking at its source.
Its tools mean that your anonymity is assured, with no prying eyes, snooping advertisers and no risk of fraud.
Just 39 percent of people surveyed do not trust the social media giant Facebook. Google however is far more trusted, with 69 percent of those surveyed saying they do trust the world's biggest search engine.
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For Microsoft, 65 percent of respondents said they trust the company, but for Apple the figure dropped to just 56 percent of people who trust the manufacturer and content provider.
The survey also highlighted that 83 percent of respondents admitted that they have never read the privacy policies of major companies such as the full privacy policy from iTunes.
When asked whether they felt comfortable knowing that their home Internet service provider or mobile phone network can track everything they do online, just 26 percent of people said they feel comfortable about it.
18 percent admitted they did not know their Internet provider or mobile network had such powers.
63 percent said they do not think the government should be able to track their online activity.
Regarding online advertising, Internet users were asked for their opinion on adverts which follow people from website to website - known as retargeting by advertisers. 60 percent of people said that they find them annoying.
47 percent also said that they find the retargeting ads intrusive, whilst just 13 percent said they find them useful. The survey also revealed that 73 percent of people are worried about their mobile devices or computers being hacked.
Facebook has been losing market share of social authentications which have declined for the second consecutive quarter. The world's largest social network does, however, still control 62 percent of the overall social login market according to Gigya.
Facebook's share peaked in Q2 2015 and is declining by two percent per quarter while Google is on the rise.
In Q4 2015, social login usage was: Facebook at 62 percent, Google at 24 percent, Twitter at seven percent, Yahoo at four percent, LinkedIn at one percent and 'other' at two percent.
The one category in which Facebook continues to make social login share gains is with mobile applications. Its share of social logins on mobile apps hit 80 percent Q4 2015. Facebook's increased privacy controls and clear messaging probably played a part in this four percent increase.
Stuart Spice of Vest said: "Concerns about online privacy are not new, but are certainly growing due to repeated high profile data leaks and constant revelations about surveillance.
With so many people relying on web based email, search engines, social media and mobile apps on a daily basis we want to raise awareness about how much personal data people are handing over, often even without their knowledge, and to understand that we should all be clear about what we want big companies to do with our data.
Seeing the different perspectives of those surveyed on the major online brands is revealing, especially given how trusted Google are and how few people trust Facebook in comparison."
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